The seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak makes hefty cuts to cohesion policy in the EU's next long-term budget all the more unjustified, writes Enrico Rossi, the governor of Italy's Tuscany Region.
The head of the European Commission warned Wednesday (25 March) that the economic aftermath of the coronavirus could leave strategic private sector firms exposed to foreign takeovers.
Germany and the Netherlands will lead opposition to issuing joint bonds to help revive the European Union economy from a deep slump caused by the coronavirus when the bloc's national leaders discuss emergency assistance on Thursday (26 March).
The German lower house on Wednesday (25 March) suspended the country's constitutionally enshrined debt brake, approving a massive stimulus package by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The World Trade Organisation's chief said on Wednesday that projections show the economic downturn and job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be worse than the 2008 recession, Reuters reports. "This pandemic will inevitably have an enormous impact on the economy," director-general Roberto Azevedo said. "Recent projections predict an economic downturn and job losses that are worse than the global financial crisis a dozen years ago," he added.
Poland has raised doubt on its ability to pay for EU zero carbon-linked investment due to virus crisis costs, its climate ministry told the Reuters news agency. "As a consequence of this crisis our economies will be weaker .... completion of some important energy projects may be delayed or even suspended," the ministry said. "Achievement of our climate goals will be even more difficult because of them," it added.
EU states have just one-tenth of the ventilators, face masks and other equipment they need to fight coronavirus, according to an internal European Commission document seen by the Reuters news agency. "Commission internal estimates show that the 'traditional' supply will only be able to serve ca. 10% of the demand," it said. Waiting times for medical supplies at certain internal EU borders "went beyond 24 hours", the EU document added.
More than 40 members of the European Parliament have joined a coalition of NGOs calling for a ban on long-distance animal transport during the coronavirus crisis. They argue that the reintroduction of border controls has resulted in delays which risk affecting animal welfare and, by extension, human health.
Smoking can make people more susceptible to serious complications from a coronavirus infection, the European Union agency for disease control said on Wednesday (25 March), citing scientific studies, although available data is still limited.
Italy, with the backing of France and Spain, call for substantial EU economic help, others want to see how long the outbreak will last before committing to big plans.
When one day the coronavirus nightmare is over, we should not wake up in an authoritarian state where individual freedoms have dwindled.
A lone judge will read out 16 verdicts in an almost empty chamber in the EU court on Thursday, as Europe tries to uphold rule of law in the pandemic.
Crises, whether terrorism, migration or pandemics, do not mean that "everything goes," experts warn over the measures EU states introduced to fight the coronavirus. Health and democracy should not be seen as a binary choice.
The European Parliament's chief administrator Klaus Welle had set the record straight after a Polish MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group made false claims on Polish television on infection rates at the Brussels assembly.
The restrictive measures taken by many member states to respond to the coronavirus outbreak make it difficult for EU farmers and fishermen to continue their daily work - which is disrupting the agri-food sector across the continent.
With India now in lockdown, in total three billion people worldwide have to stay at home in order to avoid further spreading of the coronavirus, AFP writes. Governments of countries of all continents have installed some kind of mandatory confinement. Some countries imposed curfews, others compulsory quarantine, while other countries only gave strong recommendations to stay at home. The epicentre of the coronavirus has moved from China to Europe.
Spain's coronavirus death toll has overtaken China's, climbing to 3,434, while the number of cases reach 47,610, the Guardian writes. After more than a week in lockdown, another 738 people died over 24 hours. However, officials expressed hope that the daily rise in deaths might be stabilising. "If we are not already at the peak, we are very close," said Fernando Simón, the head of Spain's health emergency centre.
The new coronavirus is unlikely to disappear in summer, the EU agency for disease control warned on Wednesday - unlike four other coronaviruses are which usually not detected in summer months, Reuters added. The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) cited research saying every country in Europe is forecast to run out of intensive care beds by mid-April unless it acts fast, Reuters reported.
Russia's April 22 public vote on a package of constitutional amendments will be postponed until after the coronavirus outbreak is under control, president Vladimir Putin said in a surprise televised address to the nation Wednesday, the Moscow Times writes. One of the amendments, already approved by parliament and the constitutional court, would reset the presidential terms and give Putin the possibility to remain president until 2036.
Poland, which relies heavily on coal-fired power stations, will find it even tougher to achieve the European Union’s climate goals because of the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the economy and companies, the government said on Wednesday (25 March).
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