On Friday 20 March, the European Commission presented its proposal to use – for the first time in the history of the euro area – the ‘general escape clause’, already provided for in the current Stability and Growth Pact, to reinforce emergency budgetary measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today, and this is new, it has never been done before, we are triggering the general escape clause. This means that national governments can inject as much into the economy as they...