EU announces 25 billion euro fund to combat Coronavirus crisis

The EU Commission has announced an investment fund of up to 25 billion euros to support healthcare, jobs and small businesses affected by the Coronavirus across EU states. It was announced by EU President Ursula von der Leyen, after the heads of the 26 Member States met by video conference today to discuss a coordinated response to the crisis.

“We’ll set up a task force to work with the member states to ensure that the money starts flowing in the coming weeks,” stated Ursula von der Leyen, promising to release 7.5 billion euros this week. “We will use all funds at our disposal so that the economy in the EU resists and is resilient. We will be using all of our means so that our economy can weather the storm.”

However, she stressed that State aid must be allowed to flow to countries that need it and that Europe should make use of ‘flexibility’ in its rules limiting public deficits. “On both of these fronts, we will clarify the rules for the game for Member States very quickly. There will be guidelines by the end of the week,” she added.