Eurotopics.net

To combat the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic the ECB has announced plans to spend another 750 billion euros on bond purchases. This comes after last week's announcement that it would invest 120 billion euros in bond-buying. The measure is aimed at lowering the interest rates at which states and companies can borrow money. Is this the right response to the crisis?

More than 40,000 people, including 1,500 unaccompanied minors, are stranded in the refugee camps on Greek Islands. Their distribution to other EU countries has been suspended in the wake of the corona crisis. The virus has not yet officially reached the cramped camps, where the sanitary infrastructure is makeshift at best. Europe's press sees a humanitarian disaster looming.

The coronavirus crisis has upset the timetable for the Brexit negotiations. Boris Johnson is nonetheless insisting that the transition phase during which all EU regulations still apply for the UK will end at the end of the year as planned. Others are calling for it to be prolonged. Columnists of the pro-Tory paper The Daily Telegraph discuss the pros and cons.

Many countries have declared a state of emergency and imposed curfews in a bid to combat the spread of the corona pandemic. In Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Denmark, for example, citizens are only allowed to leave their homes for urgent reasons. Some scientists doubt the efficacy of such drastic measures, and a number of commentators agree.