As the European epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, Italy is also likely to be, by far, the first victim of the economic crisis. With stratospheric debt, stagnant growth even before the arrival of the virus and the populists who are blowing on the embers, the country is establishing itself as the weak link in the euro zone.
The Dutch Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra, referring responsibility to the lax past of the Italian leaders did not help. President of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen apologized profusely for Europe's shortcomings towards the Italians in this crisis. The 540 billion euro envelope adopted by forceps by the Eurogroup on April 9 brought some respite, without calming the fire. The Twenty-Seven are once again at the brink of the wall, before a highly anticipated summit of heads of state and government by videoconference scheduled for Thursday, on the level of ambition of their response.
Read also: Coronavirus: why European debts will not be (and should not be) erased
Italian debt is on the markets
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