On the eve of a crucial meeting of European Heads of State or Government (see other news), 17 MEPs from the left-wing political groups in the European Parliament (Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and S&D) called for more solidarity, ambition and determination in the European response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday 22 April in a joint statement.
On the basis of the observation that the measures already taken by the European Union institutions are insufficient (see EUROPE 12465/2, 12460/1, 12468/22), they advocate in particular “the issuance of long maturity (even perpetual) EU bonds [Eurobonds]” in order to finance a massive recovery fund which would provide Member States with grants, not loans, according to a distribution key.
On the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), MEPs consider that the remaining capacity of the ESM, i.e., more than €400 billion, should be made available to all euro-area countries on equal terms and without “austerity related conditions”.
In addition, they call for a commitment by the European Central Bank (ECB) to act as a lender of last resort for Member States, to reorient its quantitative easing policies to significantly increase its direct support to SMEs and to transfer money free of charge directly to all households in the euro area (‘helicopter money’).
In a letter published today (Wednesday) in response to a question from Greens/EFA Co-President Philippe Lamberts, ECB President Christine Lagarde appeared to reject the latter option. According to the Commission, the policy proposals associated with the ‘helicopter money’ principle does “not fully address the associated operational, accounting and legal complexities nor [does it] provide a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the full economic and monetary impact”. She nevertheless clarified that the ECB “has not adopted a formal position on the matter”.
See the joint declaration and the letter from Christine Lagarde: https://bit.ly/3cC5RW0 – https://bit.ly/2RZxiBg (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)