Recently the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel said that we are still at the beginning of the pandemic and that the World Health Organization is an indispensable partner for Germany.
“We are not living in the final phase of the pandemic, but still at the beginning,” she commented during a speech in front of the lower house of the parliament, “We have won time,” she added.
There are currently 150,648 confirmed infection cases in Germany as well as a death toll of 5,315.
She also said that the country should be ready to contribute more to the EU budget.
"In the spirit of solidarity, we should be prepared - over a limited period of time - to make very different, meaning much higher contributions to the EU budget,” she told the parliament.
The President of Germany’s BdB banking lobby claimed that the coronavirus crisis will cause many loans default.
When making a reference to the fact that banks won't be able and shouldn't approve every loan request, Zielke highlighted that this crisis will leave a mark on the economy and will cause people to stop their payments.
“After all, this crisis will leave its mark on the economy and lead to many loan defaults,” he said.
EU Leaders to Propose a Joint Fund to Face the Effects of the Crisis
European Union leaders will ask the European Commission to propose a fund to help the most affected sectors and regions of Europe.
“The idea of having a special instrument to deal with the crisis is starting to be consensual,” said and EU official.
It's still not clear which size the recovery fund would have, but there are proposals that go from 1 trillion to several trillion. Countries like Spain and Italy have proposed the issuance of joint debt, which is being heavily opposed by countries like Germany and the Netherlands.
The Eurozone economic activity is being heavily affected by the advance of the coronavirus outbreak in the continent, the Flash composite PMI for the area fell to 13.5, which is the lowest figure ever recorded.
“April saw unprecedented damage to the eurozone economy amid virus lockdown measures coupled with slumping global demand and shortages of both staff and inputs,” said IHS Markit's Chris Williamson, “The ferocity of the slump has also surpassed that thought imaginable by most economists,” he added, explaining that this figure is compatible with a 7.5 percent GDP contraction in the current quarter.
Williamson also warned against an increase in job losses, linked to a slumping demand.
By 8:05 the Euro went down by 0.22 percent against the US dollar, falling to the 1.0798 level. Conversely, it lost 0.36 percent against the Japanese Yen, falling to the 116.15 level. On the other hand, it added 0.02 percent against the Swiss Franc, hitting the 1.0514 level.