The #Eurogroup has a deal! What does it mean? 1/ https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/04/09/report-on-the-comprehensive-economic-policy-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Compared to eg 2010, we are discussing much more openly solidarity and the topics of Eurobonds and fiscal risk sharing has made it to the forefront almost immediately. This is positive, if you think back in 2010 we were debating whether it was even legal to give money to 2/

Mixed outcome on ESM: conditionality is scrapped for health spending but not for addressing economic fallout of COVID (despite this being a global exogenous shock). Unconditional health lending will benefit relatively more those who still behind in COVID infection progression. 3/

SURE is important because it is lending without conditionality and rooted into the EU budget “as much as possible”, so it might be an opening to EU borrowing. But the statement point to SURE being terminated when crisiz ends, so may not morph into proper EU insurance scheme 4/

Importantly there is an agreement to setup a recovery fund. On this, EG as expected escalated and asked for guidance to the heads of state and government - in particular as to how the fund should be financed (including through “innovative financial instruments”). 5/

So overall a positive outcome, given where we started from, but ball is now in the leaders' courts. It was clear since the start that no technical agreement could (nor should) have solved what is ultimately a deeply political decision. End/