Economy of the European Union

Increased liquidity requirements amid the coronavirus pandemic contributed toward the increase in Greek bank' dependence on European Central Bank funding.

During Friday's Eurogroup teleconference, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras is determined to press for swift decisions and efficient procedures so that support programs are immediately implemented in the eurozone.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) report, entitled "Regional Economic Prospects", says that if a short-term effect of the COVID-19 epidemic is accepted, economies are expected to shrink by an average of 3.5% worldwide this year, compared to 4.8% in 2021, noting that these forecasts are uncertain due to uncertainty with the development of the crisis.

Greece could limit this year's recession to 5-8 percent after taking into account the government's implemented and planned relief measures which will amount to 24 billion euros, the country's Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Wednesday.

He said if support measures had not been taken, the recession could reach 13 percent this year.

The European Union's borders must reopen fast as coronavirus transmissions ease, with air passengers wearing masks, the bloc's executive was to say on Wednesday in efforts to salvage the ravaged tourism sector for the lucrative summer season.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has downgraded its estimates of Romania's economic developments in 2020 as a result of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the bank's latest Regional Economic Prospects published on Wednesday.

A legal wrangle over the European Central Bank's bond-purchasing program will help focus minds on the need for closer European integration, Greek central bank chief Yannis Stournaras said on Tuesday.

American economist Paul Krugman, one of the more vocal proponents of a Greek exit from the euro during the 2009-2019 debt crisis, is pointing to Greece as one of the countries that have successfully managed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The European Central Bank bought a record 44 billion euros ($47.64 billion) worth of bonds across its stimulus programs last week, but still failed to rein in borrowing costs for Italy and other indebted countries, ECB data showed on Monday.

Following Friday's agreement by eurozone finance ministers, Greece stands to receive low-interest loans from the emergency credit line of the European Stability Mechanism without any of the heavy conditions it had to meet in the 2010s.