Two cases of coronavirus in EU institutions, Eurogroup to shield economies from coronavirus impact
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On Wednesday, two cases of the virus were confirmed by authorities in Brussels, one at the European Defence Agency and another at the Council of the European Union.
Eurozone finance ministers Wednesday agreed to use “all appropriate policy tools” to protect their economies from the impact of the coronavirus but stopped short of specifying any measures.
According to a statement from the European Defence Agency, a staff member “tested positive and is currently at home in self isolation since symptoms appeared on Saturday evening … The individual has reported very light symptoms and not returned to the Agency since.”
It said the individual had returned to Brussels from a visit to Italy on February 23.
The Council of the European Union said one of its staff members had tested positive for the virus, but pledged not to cancel meetings.
“A colleague from the Information Security Unit of ORG 5 is infected with novel coronavirus COVID-19 following local transmission in Belgium,” William Shapcott, the Council’s director general for organizational development and services, wrote to Council staff in an email seen by POLITICO.
“We are prepared to take further policy action,” Eurogroup President Mário Centeno told reporters from a prepared statement after a telephone conference with other ministers. “This includes fiscal measures, where appropriate as they may be needed to support growth in the euro area taking into account countries’ specific circumstances.”
The ministers decided that across-the-board action was not needed now, considering that the localized impact of the virus.
Italy and France — the two EU countries with fatalities from the virus, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control — pushed for the vow to wield all necessary measures. German, Dutch and other representatives on the call stressed the need to study the impact on public finances.
Centeno expressed confidence the economic impact of the virus would be temporary.
