EU finance ministers on Thursday agreed on a 540 billion euros (US$591 billion) package of measures to combat the economic fallout of the global COVID-19 pandemic. It is now up to EU leaders to approve the accord, which would require overcoming profound political disagreements.
In an emergency teleconference, the Eurogroup approved a plan to stave off what is expected to be a recession of unprecedented size.
The deal would lay to rest — at least temporarily — concerns that the EU was incapable of uniting behind a common strategy when it was most urgently needed.
Photo: AFP
In a sign of relief, ministers broke out in applause once a consensus was struck.
“Today, we agreed on three safety nets, and a plan for the recovery to ensure we grow together and not apart once the crisis is behind us,” said Portuguese Minister of Finance Mario Centeno, who heads the Eurogroup.
The common response includes a joint 100 billion euros employment insurance fund, a European Investment Bank instrument intended to supply 200 billion euros of liquidity to companies, as well as credit lines of as much as 240 billion euros from the European Stability Mechanism — the eurozone’s bailout fund — to backstop states as they go on a spending spree to help get economies back on their feet.
The ministers also agreed to work on a temporary fund that would help kick-start the recovery and support the hardest-hit nations, while not defining how it would be financed.
French Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire said the fund could be decided on in the next six months and could total 500 billion euros.
All of it needs approval by EU government leaders as early as next week, and tensions persist.
With several key divisions papered over, disagreements are likely to resurface when leaders are called to sign off.
The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed Europe, with the continent suffering more than 65 percent of the worldwide deaths attributable to the coronavirus.
The scale of the damage shines a spotlight on the vulnerabilities of a union whose sense of common purpose has been tested over the past decade by the Greek debt crisis, an influx of refugees and Brexit, but the pandemic — in the words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a veteran of many geopolitical fights — poses the biggest threat to the EU since World War II.
Europe’s more-frugal north is pitted against Italy and Spain, the worst-affected nations, in a climate of mistrust and simmering resentment.
Disagreements were laid bare earlier this week when finance ministers failed to agree on a joint response after 16 hours of bitter negotiations.
Things were different on Thursday.
The meeting was delayed by nearly five hours while key nations — including the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and Spain — negotiated a compromise that would ultimately be uncomfortable to most, yet acceptable to all.
Once the meeting started, it took just 30 minutes to declare success.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS