Flanders pushes for quicker exit plan as experts remain cautious

In today's news from the Capitals:

BRUSSELS. Belgium's National Security Council and the Group of Experts for an Exit Strategy (GEES) is meant to come up with clear guidelines and decisions this Friday regarding the country's plan for the end of lockdown measures. Especially Flanders is currently pushing for a quicker opening of the country. Alexandra Brzozowski has more.

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BERLIN

Merkel open to bonds with EU budget as guarantee. German Chancellor Angela Merkel signalled readiness on Monday to finance economic recovery in Europe from the coronavirus pandemic through a bigger EU budget and the issuance of joint debt via the European Commission, Reuters reported. The idea is for the European Commission borrowing on the market against the security of the long-term EU budget and leveraging the money to achieve a bigger effect. This has already happened with SURE scheme, a new temporary fund to support workers in countries that have been hit hard by coronavirus.

>> Merkel open to bigger EU budget, bonds to finance post-crisis recovery

Also read: EU Parliament’s big four back ‘recovery bonds’ to tackle COVID-19 crisis

Merkel also claimed that the EU budget will require "completely different financial possibilities" in the years following the crisis and stated that "Germany will participate in solidarity measures beyond the €500 billion package" through the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), despite the chancellor previously advocating for aid solely through the ESM.

Merkel warns against complacency. Despite the country's encouraging COVID-19 statistics and last week's cautious relaxation of restrictions, Germany is not yet out of the woods, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) warned in Monday afternoon's press conference (20 April). "We must not allow ourselves to be lulled into a sense of security for a second[…]We are at the beginning and we are far from being out of the woods," she told reporters, emphasising that Germany's continued success fighting the virus is not a foregone conclusion, as only time could show the impacts of the country's recent relaxation of restrictions.

(Sarah Lawton | EURACTIV.de)

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PARIS

€120 billion lost. France's eight-week lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus will result in a €120 billion loss for businesses, according to the French Observatory of Economic Conjunctures (OFCE). "During the containment period, the gross domestic product (GDP) has been reduced by 32%", corresponding to five GDP percentage points over the whole of 2020, the OFCE said. For 2020, the government predicts that the country's GDP will fall by 8% while its public deficit will skyrocket to 9% of GDP this year. (EURACTIV.FR)

Have a look at what predictions were made about the French economy just a month ago: "France's budget deficit could skyrocket to 7% of GDP in COVID-19 aftermath".

Also read: France says virus exacerbating global diplomatic rift

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VIENNA

Finance minister wants to suspend European state aid rules. Suspending EU state aid rules would be an act of solidarity towards countries such as Austria, Gernot Blümel of conservative ÖVP told a press conference on Monday (20 April).

"I do not understand why we should support other countries with Austrian tax money and, in return, be prohibited to support our companies with our own tax money," the minister criticised. That same day, a Commission spokeswoman defended state aid rules as "a cornerstone of the single market" which would still be "of fundamental importance" during the coronavirus crisis. (Philipp Grüll | EURACTIV.de)

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HELSINKI

Glyphosate is harmful to animals. Glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide, turns out to be harmful to animals, according to a new study by the University of Turku. The new, year-long study, is the first of its kind to have tested the weedkiller on animals and has shown that it is not just dangerous for green plants as previously believed. EURACTIV's Pekka Vänttinen takes a closer look at the study's findings.

EUROPE'S SOUTH

ATHENS

Oil price collapse is 'chance' for Greek shipowners. Oil prices went negative yesterday for the first time in history due to zero demand and COVID-19 lockdown measures worldwide. However, according to Greek website News247, this is a chance for Greek shipowners.

Negative prices mean that producers pay buyers to get rid of their product as there are not enough facilities to store it. The news website reported that Greek tanker owners receive an increasing number of calls to rent their ships. Fares have skyrocketed to more than $200,000 a day in early April compared to just $120,000 in the last week of March.

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ROME

Drop in cases but caution remains. While the daily increase of new active COVID-19 cases dropped for the first time since the beginning of the spread, Italy's government remains convinced that economic activities should only resume after 4 May so that factories can gradually reopen. Bars and restaurants would have to wait until after 17 May, however.

According to the national observatory on the pandemic, the first regions where no new cases are to be expected include Basilicata and Umbria by late April, while the last two will be Lombardy and Marche, by the end of June. (Gerardo Fortuna | EURACTIV.com)

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SPAIN

Plans to ease lockdown measures. Spain's government has announced plans to ease its coronavirus lockdown measures as Monday's coronavirus death toll dropped under 400, the lowest since 22 March. The proposed de-escalation came amid growing political tensions, especially between the left-wing coalition government, formed by the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos, and the conservative opposition Popular Party (PP). EURACTIV's partner EFE reports.

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LISBON

Hostel evacuated and disinfected. One of Lisbon's hostels, which housed nearly 200 people in 40 rooms, was evacuated and disinfected by the authorities on Sunday (19 April) after a case of COVID-19 was detected.

Subsequent tests confirmed at least 100 cases of infection with the new coronavirus among guests, some of them asylum seekers. The Portuguese Council for Refugees (CPR) is currently monitoring 950 asylum seekers, about 800 of whom are in lodgings outside the services, in hostels in the city of Lisbon, the organisation's president Mónica Farinha told Lusa on Monday. (Lusa.pt)

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

Will Gowin change sides? Presidential elections are looming and the opposition is attempting to be prepared for every scenario. The presidential candidates - from left to right - will be staying in the race, despite experts warning of the life-threatening nature of holding elections.

However, at the same time, PO, the largest opposition party, is trying to convince former deputy prime minister Jarosław Gowin to abandon the ruling coalition and join the opposition in postponing the elections for one year. While Gowin may be interested, according to PO leader Borys Budka, it remains uncertain whether MPs will follow as they had not in the last couple of weeks. (Łukasz Gadzała | EURACTIV.pl)

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BUDAPEST

Did MEPs read the law? "I would have been extremely happy if MEPs had read that law. Because if I look at the resolution of the [European] Parliament, I have the suspicion that they had spoken before reading it," Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, told Euronews, referring to a resolution on Friday (17 April) that said Hungary’s coronavirus lawwas "totally incompatible with European values".

"So, portraying this Hungarian legislation, … as if it was extraordinary is simply fake," the minister added, arguing that there were several member states with similar provisions and the Hungarian government can only issue decrees "in accordance with protecting people against the pandemic". (Vlagyiszlav Makszimov | EURACTIV.com)

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PRAGUE

Russian attack? On Monday (20 April), Czech media reported that Russia was responsible for a series of cyberattacks reported on Thursday (16 April) on Czech hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the country. While the country's health ministry confirmed that all attacks had been unsuccessful, the Russian embassy immediately denied such accusations, noting that such 'fake news' "crosses all possible moral and ethical red lines".

In other news, the Czech Constitutional Court is currently looking into the legality of the travel ban imposed by the government on 14 March. The travel ban completely forbade Czech citizens from travelling abroad before the restrictive measures were released. While constitutional law experts contend that the strict travel ban breached the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the government argues that such a ban had also been imposed by other European countries.

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BRATISLAVA

Functioning single market 'vital' for new government. While it is yet to be approved by Slovakia's National Council, the new government of Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) has adopted its programme statement, which foresees strong pro-EU and transatlantic orientation. Zuzana Gabrizova reports from Bratislava.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Easter lockdown breached. After authorities had indefinitely banned the entering and exiting from the capital on the eve of the four-day Easter holiday, kilometre-long queues at the city's entrances formed on Monday (20 April).

While a valid reason, which does not include holidaymaking, needs to be provided for travel between Bulgarian cities, tens of thousands of people nevertheless left the capital before it had been put on lockdown on Friday, despite it having 900 COVID-19 related deaths, the most in the country. In response, police warned they would check all exit declarations and sanction those who have lied. Drivers who had no good reason to return to Sofia were not let in on Monday. (Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)

Famous journalist killed in car crash. Milen Tsvetkov, a familiar face from TV screens for all Bulgarians, was killed in a car accident on Easter Sunday (19 April) in Sofia. Tsvetkov’s car had stopped at a red light when an SUV hit it from behind at very high speed. Tsvetkov died in the next minutes, while the other driver and the people in his car were unharmed. The police arrested the 22-year old reckless driver, who turned out to be on drugs. Tsvetkov’s death triggered a wave of reactions in society. He became famous mostly through his work with Nova TV, which fired him in 2018. A series of prominent journalists were also dismissed from Nova in recent months. (Georgi Gotev, EURACTIV.com)

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BUCHAREST

Romania allows derogations in fossil fuel blending. The Romanian government adopted on 9 April an emergency ordinance that changes the regulations on fuel sales and allows the sale of gasoline and diesel without the mandatory quotas including biofuels, EURACTIV.ro reported. See how the European Commission and biofuel industry have reacted. (Bogdan Neagu, Sarantis Michalopoulos)

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LJUBLJANA

Opposition seeks constitutional review. Four opposition parties - LMS, Levica, SD and SAB - asked the Constitutional Court on Monday (20 April) to review the legality of two articles of the anti-corona emergency package. On the radar is Article 103 dealing with expanded police competences, and Article 9, which they say creates confusion over the role of health inspection services, as well as the ban on crossing between municipalities, which in their opinion is disproportionate. (Zoran Radosavljevic | EURACTIV.com)

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ZAGREB

Reconstructions. The Croatian government will be formulating its conclusions next week, ''along with epidemiologists' recommendations'', which would serve as the basis for the national civil protection authority to make decisions on the reactivation and normalisation of some economic activities'', Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced on Monday (20 April). The PM also pointed out that 88,000 business had used the state allowance, which amounts to HRK 3,500 (€460) per employee, to support more than 480,000 workers, the PM added.

Meanwhile, President Zoran Milanović called for the transparent and fair reconstruction of Zagreb after the earthquake that struck it on 22 March. On Monday, a delegation of architects, urban planners and art historians told him about their vision and criticised the proposed reconstruction bill, saying it lacked an interdisciplinary approach. ''This is an opportunity for Zagreb to become a modern European city and a pleasant place for living in the 21st century," the president said. On Monday the city started distributing building material as emergency aid for citizens whose homes were damaged. To date, 11,712 damaged buildings have been inspected. (Karla Junicic, EURACTIV.hr)

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BELGRADE

EU-led dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia - an opportunity. EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak said on Monday (20 April) that the EU-mediated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia provides both countries with an opportunity to tackle and overcome their past problems and turn toward a better future. EURACTIV Serbia digs deeper.

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In other news, Beta News Agency stated that it had not been sending any questions for the Crisis Headquarters’ regular press conferences for several days now. "We will continue with this practice as long as the conditions under which the conferences are organised remain unchanged, i.e. until the possibility for the journalists to participate directly in them is ensured", Beta announced in a statement. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic]