The day after the Eurogroup agreement identifying new measures to complete the European response arsenal to COVID-19 (see EUROPE 12465/2), the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced on Friday 10 April the convening of a European summit by videoconference on Thursday 23 April, the fourth since the outbreak of the pandemic.
In particular, the Twenty-Seven will be invited to vote on the European strategy on a gradual and coordinated lifting of restrictive measures taken to combat the pandemic, which the European Commission will unveil this Wednesday (see EUROPE 12466/2), in response to a request made at the end of March (see EUROPE 12455/1).
“Together with the President of the Commission, I am working on a Roadmap and Action Plan to ensure the well-being of all Europeans and to bring the EU back to strong, sustainable and inclusive growth”, said Mr Michel in a statement.
On the budgetary component, the European leaders will take stock of the implementation of the measures approved by the Eurogroup, such as the SURE unemployment reinsurance instrument on the agenda of the Ecofin Council meeting on Thursday 16 April (see EUROPE 12460/1).
This will also be the case for the activation of the credit lines of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the permanent rescue fund for the euro area, which require 15 days to become operational.
The controversy in Italy has been going on for a long time over the hypothesis of recourse to this temporary aid, which will be focused on the fight against the direct and indirect costs linked to the pandemic. The Conte government officially continues to reject an envelope of around €36 billion for its country in the hope that the European Council will reach an agreement on the joint issue of debt at European level, as called for by nine Member States.
Today, in opposition, the far right considers that calling on the ESM would be a capitulation of the country to Europe. On Tuesday 14 April, Five Star Movement MEPs reminded Lega, their previous partner in government, that its representatives were in the ‘Berlusconi IV’ government when Italy approved the 2011 treaty establishing the ESM, which provides for macroeconomic conditions in exchange for financial aid. But the current government remains reluctant to approve the reform of the ESM, fearing that it will facilitate the restructuring of the public debt of troubled euro-area countries (see EUROPE 12384/1).
At the next European summit, the creation of a Recovery Fund to stimulate economic recovery will also have to be decided, including the scope and financing arrangements for such a fund. To put it plainly, do the Twenty-Seven consider that the 2021-2027 EU budget – the proposal under negotiation which will be revised at the end of April – is the most appropriate instrument for raising capital jointly on the markets at European level? Or is the establishment of an ad hoc intergovernmental instrument more likely to raise capital in an innovative way and spread the costs of economic recovery over time? (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)