Rising death rates. Economies closing down. People forced to stay at home. The coronavirus is a health, social and economic emergency for every country where it hits. But in Europe it has also mutated very quickly into something else as well, and which, while it may not be quite so threatening in the short-term, could well do even more damage in the years ahead. A currency crisis.
Over the last couple of weeks the eurozone has been engulfed by a furious argument over ‘coronabonds’ – a joint eurozone financial instrument that could raise money to help deal with the crisis. The highly-indebted Southern economies, along with France, are in favour. Predictably, Germany and the Netherlands are against.
You can argue about the rights and wrongs of that proposal. A ‘coronabond’ would make it a lot easier for countries such as Italy and Spain, where the virus has hit with ferocious intensity, to raise money both to pay for medical care and to help their economies to survive.
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