After two days of online intense negotiations and sometimes heated discussions, the finance ministers of the EU-27 agreed on 9 April to a €540 billion aid package to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic in Europe.
The main sticking point was the hostility of some northern countries, led by Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra, to the creation of "coronabonds" – debt securities guaranteed by all member states. The bonds were demanded by several south-western European countries, and replaced in the final declaration by no better specified "innovative financial tools". The head of state and of governments will now have to approve the deal.
A conversation with investigative reporters Stefano Valentino and Giorgio Michalopoulos, who have dissected the dark underbelly of green finance for Voxeurop and won several awards for their work.
Go to the event >