Try, try again: the euro zone

Sixteen hours of talks on April 7th and 8th were not enough for the euro zone’s finance ministers to strike a deal【达成协议】 on how to combat the economic devastation【灾难】 of the corona-crisis.

This afternoon they will fire up【发动】 Zoom and try again. Two issues stand in the way of an agreement.

First are the conditions that would accompany any loans extended from the euro zone’s bail-out fund.

Italy in particular is keen to keep them to a minimum, whereas the Dutch insist on attaching tough rules.

Second is how to pay for recovery once the lockdowns end.

Nine countries, including France, Italy and Spain, want jointly guaranteed “coronabonds” to spread the burden, but Germany and others are allergic to【对...厌恶、反感】 explicit forms of debt mutualisation.

Ministers are confident of a breakthrough, but in a mood of rancour【怨恨；怨毒】 and distrust—and without the up-close and personal wee-hours dealmaking that Europe specialises in—it is not entirely clear why.

Apr 9th 2020