Finance Ministers in the euro area stand ready to take further coordinated policy action, “including fiscal measures”, where appropriate, to support economic growth and combat further materialisation of the downward risk posed by the COVID-19 virus.
Welcoming the measures taken by some countries to ensure that health and civil protection systems are adequately equipped, the Eurogroup pledges to use all available instruments, arguing that the Stability and Growth Pact provides for flexibility “to cater for unusual events outside the control of governments” in a declaration adopted on Wednesday 4 March, following a video conference in which finance ministers from countries outside of the euro area also participated.
“It is up to the European Commission to apply these fiscal rules and to analyse the requests of Member States”, stressed the President of the Eurogroup, Mário Centeno, in a statement.
Faced with such an exceptional event as the coronavirus epidemic, Member States may incur additional expenditure provided that it is “temporary” and directly related to the circumstances of the situation. Ultimately, it should deviate from the budgetary trajectory agreed at European level, without jeopardising budgetary stability.
The Eurogroup experts were mandated to prepare a series of possible actions to be taken so that Ministers will find themselves in a position in March to better assess the economic impact of the coronavirus and, if necessary, to act in proportion to the risks.
See the Eurogroup statement: http://bit.ly/2uWtBnC (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)