The European Commission is to present a package to help European Union (EU) member states struggling with the economic impact of the outbreak of COVID-19.
The EU executive will present “policy guidance and measures to deal with fiscal and economic consequences” of the disease on Friday, EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis wrote on Twitter.
“We need to support our companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed hit by the crisis,” he added, following a crisis meeting of EU commissioners earlier on Thursday.
Similarly, European markets plunged after a coronavirus emergency monetary package announced by the European Central Bank fell well short of what investors had expected.
While Europe’s blue-chip Eurostoxx 50 dived by a hefty 9.54 per cent to 2,632.19 points as ECB President Christine Lagarde was outlining the package at a Frankfurt news conference, the euro slumped by 0.94 per cent to 1.1161 dollars.
Ten-year bond yields also came under pressure, notably in France, Spain and Italy, with the eurozone’s third biggest economy in total lockdown.
The drop in Eurostoxx 50 reflected steep falls in national bourses across the eurozone with stocks in Paris and Frankfurt also slumping by about 10 per cent. (dpa/NAN)
