In order to respond to the shocks that the COVID-19 pandemic is putting on the European economy, the Finance Ministers of the euro area Member States must re-examine the European Commission's proposal to create a market for sovereign bond-backed securities (SBBS) (see EUROPE 12026/3), the President of the European Parliament's Renew Europe group, Dacian Cioloş (Romania), said on Thursday 19 March.
The SBBS would give Member States the possibility “to invest money to safeguard jobs and incomes at European level”, said Mr Cioloş in a video briefing with the press, while calling for the use of all available budgetary room for manoeuvre.
Presented on 24 May 2018, the Commission's SBBS proposal aims to reduce financial risks in the banking system by promoting diversification of investments in sovereign debt (see EUROPE 12026/3).
While the European Parliament adopted its position on this dossier in April 2019 (see EUROPE 12237/14), discussions in the Council of the European Union have stalled, mainly due to German opposition.
Although the Commission had given assurances that its proposal did not involve “ any mutualisation of risks between countries in the euro area“, Berlin feared that SBBS would pave the way for eurobonds and ultimately lead to higher borrowing costs for Germany in order to absorb the risks associated with other euro area economies.
A deblocking of the situation in the EU Council as desired by Renew Europe is therefore far from guaranteed.
Moreover, assuming that Finance Ministers reach an agreement quickly, the dossier will still have to be subject to interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’).
“If the political will is there, it is possible for things to move quickly and have a decision overnight”, a source of Renew Europe assured EUROPE.
Health task force at EU level
On the health aspect, Mr Cioloş called in particular for a EU health task force to be set up at EU level, once the pandemic is behind us, with the aim of strengthening the interoperability of Member States’ health systems.
He has also repeatedly stressed the importance of cooperation and solidarity between European countries, particularly with regard to the supply of medical equipment and medicines.
Stressing the need to ensure the dissemination of reliable information to medical personnel and citizens, he also considered that the possibility of transporting patients from overwhelmed areas to areas that are not should be explored. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)