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European Central Bank doubles size of Covid-19 stimulus

THE European Central Bank almost doubled the size of its emergency pandemic support programme today from €600 billion to €1.35 trillion (£540bn to £1.2tn).

The bank expects the eurozone economy to shrink by 8.7 per cent this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and its president, disgraced former French finance minister Christine Lagarde, said that “the speed and scale of the rebound are highly uncertain.”

The decision came a day after Germany announced its own €130bn stimulus, with the country’s trade unions warning of soaring joblessness.

Germany’s plan includes cuts to VAT, additional funding for local and state governments and child benefit boosts for all families.

That package also adopts subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, a measure introduced in France to assist the automotive industry and accelerate the transition to cleaner transport.

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