European Commissioner Frans Timmermans has warned that the financial repercussions of the Wuhan coronavirus could be worse than the 2008 financial crisis and could lead to the breakup of the EU.
The first executive vice president of the European Commission made his warnings late last month during a closed meeting of top EU officials in Brussels, but Italian media has now published the minutes.
Timmermans warned the survival of the European Union monetary union, and therefore the euro currency itself, was under considerable risk due to the divergence in response to the coronavirus crisis by EU member states, news agency Adnkronos reported on Tuesday.
He said that the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic could lead to the “de facto dismantling of the Union and the Eurozone”.
After Coronavirus Response Failures, Almost Half of Italians Want to Leave the EU https://t.co/W6YHrsZVHD
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 14, 2020
The commissioner went on to criticise his fellow countryman, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for his coronavirus positions, which have included rejecting the idea of Eurobonds that could be used to aid countries like Italy and Spain which are most affected by the outbreak.
Timmermans’ comments made behind closed doors echo those of economists like Professor Paul De Grauwe who also warned in late March that the European Union could collapse due to a lack of solidarity.
“If I were Italian and if I saw that other countries are not willing to help Italy, I would question membership in the Union,” he said.
In mid-April, French economist Jean-Paul Fitoussi said that without a Europe-wide investment programme, the European Union could face “a destiny of underdevelopment”. He called for “an investment plan in public goods, which are those from whose use, by definition, nobody can be excluded and which bring added value to all citizens”.
EU Commission Boss Issues Another Coronavirus Apology as Bloc Cracks https://t.co/zYFHUHmsif
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 19, 2020
Friction between Italy and the European Union, in particular, has remained high during the coronavirus crisis with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen apologising to the Italian public twice as a result.
Polls have shown massive growth in Euroscepticism in Italy in recent weeks with at least one poll showing as many as almost one in two Italians think their country would be better off leaving the EU altogether.
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