Below is the text of the statement produced by the ECON Committee that I chair, following an internal debate among the respective coordinators, in which we ask for stronger and braver economic measures at the European level. It is unfortunate that the ECR and ID political groups that list Fretelli d’Italia and Lega Nord among its memebers decided not to sign it.
Here is the link to the statement.
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The Chair and the majority of coordinators welcome the first steps taken by EU institutions and Member States to counter the COVID-19 pandemic but call for further and stronger actions.
“The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a great challenge for all our citizens, health care workers, public administrations, businesses but also for financial institutions and the overall stability of the Euro area.
“We welcome the first set of measures taken by the Commission, the Eurogroup, the European Central Bank, including the Single Supervisory Mechanism, and the European Banking Authority, but call for further initiatives, leveraging all possible instruments that could be used to counter the negative impact on the EU economy.
“We also call on all Member States to take further bold actions, including the possibility of setting up a dedicated instrument within the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and with specific rules for providing additional funding to Member States severely hit by the outbreak of the COVID-19.
“Furthermore, we also emphasise that a common European response is urgently needed to ensure stability and to avoid the fractioning of the European financial system and of the internal market.
“The Economic and Monetary affairs committee stands ready to work expeditiously on all initiatives aimed to counter the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Chair: Irene Tinagli (S&D, IT)
Coordinators of the political groups:
Markus Ferber (EPP, DE),
Jonás Fernández (S&D, ES),
Luis Garicano (Renew, ES),
Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA, DE)