Posted on 04/10/2020 1:58:42 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
LISBON - Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Friday that the Netherlands’ attempt to block economic support to fight the coronavirus raised questions about the future of the European Union.
“If under these conditions it’s not possible for Europe to ensure a common response to this challenge, this is a sign of great concern for those who believe in Europe,” Costa said in an interview with local news agency Lusa.
Costa questioned whether “there is anyone who wants to be left out” of the EU or the 19-member euro zone.
“Naturally, I’m referring to the Netherlands,” he said.
“There is at least one country in the euro zone that resists understanding that sharing a common currency implies sharing a common effort,” he added.
Costa’s comments came a day after the EU’s finance ministers agreed on half-a-trillion euros of support for their coronavirus-battered economies.
Thursday’s deal does not mention using joint “eurobond” debt to help finance a recovery - something hard-hit Italy, France and Spain pushed strongly for but which is a red line for Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria.
On Twitter, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the Netherlands is and “will remain opposed to eurobonds”.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
FUEU
The Golden Age of The Netherlands came out of fighting for an independent Republic against an Iberian Union trying to dominate them.
I have heard the very old line about,
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
But how is it that this group can steal more from each other than they can produce individually?
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