EU agrees first part of coronavirus economic rescue, but job not done yet

Eurozone governments gave their final approval on Friday to the first part of a 540 billion-euro rescue plan for states hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, although other elements of the rescue package have yet to be agreed on.

Finance ministers of the 19-nation region signed off on the details of cheap, long-term credit lines that will be made available by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the bloc's rescue fund, to countries that need cash to cover extraordinary health costs caused by the outbreak.

"Reflecting the exceptional nature of the crisis, we have agreed on favourable and adequate financial terms," the chair of the meeting, Mario Centeno, said after the online meeting.

However, it was unclear whether the money will be used by Italy, the country that most needs the loans, because of its high debt-servicing costs and the severity of the outbreak...

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