Last Thursday, the masks fell at the meeting of the European Commission, the northern countries with Germany and the Netherlands at the forefront showed that southern Europe for them is only a place to spend the holidays and sunbathe; they don’t want to hear or talk about the issue of the common debt or anything that looks like it. On the other hand, a group of nine countries led by France, Italy and Spain mainly called for the issuance of government bonds: a common debt bond supported by all euro area countries that would stimulate the hardest-hit economies. But the Nordic countries of what they forget, in the case of Germany exporting 14.3% of its production to the common market, 6.7% in total to Spain, France and Italy, the case of the Netherlands, which is more delicate still reaches 43% of its exports to the common market; these countries forget that we are in an interconnected market, a paralysis of trade would be fatal for much of the productive fabric of their industries.
International organizations such as the Organization for Co-Oron and Economic Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warn that the pandemic will reduce global economic growth by 2020. In a situation like this, states are forced to inject large sums of money to keep the system working: for example, people who have been temporarily unemployed continue to charge to pay their bills, or companies they cannot produce can pay their workers.
We are in unseeded war, in a war, we must mobilize all resources, promote values such as: a sense of commitment, cooperation and respect for civil liberties. Other multilateral organizations such as the G20, such as the G20, should also be remembered for their practical and joint response.
During the 2008 economic crisis, the European Union had a rapacity with the weaker states, was insensitive and devoted itself to saving the banks and their deficit. In the immigration crisis, the EU is looking the other way and has left countries at their mercy to look for improvised solutions; the COVIDE-19 crisis may be the last opportunity for the European Union and all its countries to demonstrate that this common project is solid and credible. In the coming days, we will know the answer.
