Pubblicato il: 23/03/2020 16:34
No European Union nation can win out single-handed against Covid-19 and its economic fallout, Giuseppe Conte, premier of Italy – now the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic – said on Monday.
“No member state should delude itself that it can make it alone,” Conte told Turin-based Italian daily La Stampa in an interview.
“We need a powerful, effective and immediate European response,” Conte underlined.
Conte praised the 750 billion euro bond-buying stimulus package the European Central Bank announced last week in a bid to help the economies of coronavirus-hit countries like Italy, where at least 5,476 people have died from Covid-19 and there have been over 59,000 confirmed cases.
Italy is under a drastic national lockdown that now extends to factories producing non-essential goods and services, which are closed until at least 3 April, further fuelling fears that Covid-19 will push the country into its fourth recession since 2008.
The emergency scheme unveiled by the ECB will pump cash into economies by buying additional government and corporate bonds until at least the end of the year.
“The ECB has undoubtedly launched a protective shield, now it is up to European governments to do battle and defend the economy. To be victorious, we need to take the next step in a spirit of unity,” Conte said.
Europe must build financial infrastructure centered on the Eurobond that can support countries’ efforts to defeat Covid-19 and mitigate the economic damage wrought by the virus, he said.
“At the least we need a Guarantee Fund that is capable of looking after the health of the European economy,” Conte added.
