The European Parliament is mobilising additional funds to help the EU countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

In an extraordinary plenary session on Thursday 26 March, MEPs will vote on a European Commission proposal to allow member states to request financial assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund in their fight against Covid-19. The proposal is part of a set of EU measures to mobilise all existing budget resources to help EU countries tackle the pandemic.
The Commission proposes to broaden the Solidarity Fund’s scope to add major public health crises to the natural emergencies initially covered.
The hardest hit member states should get access to financial support of up to €800 million in 2020. Support would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
EU solidarity
Created as a reaction to the severe floods in Central Europe in 2002, the EU Solidarity Fund’s main objective is to provide financial assistance to EU member states dealing with natural disasters. Under the current rules, the fund can only support the recovery from disasters such as floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms and droughts. Public health emergencies such as Covid-19 do not fall within its remit.
Under the new rules, public emergency and recovery operations, such as restoring the working order of infrastructures, cleaning up of areas and providing temporary accommodation for people, remain eligible for financing. The rules would be extended to cover assistance to the population in case of health crises and to cover measures to contain infectious diseases.
Find out more: Legislative procedure
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Last Updated: March 19, 2020
As announced by Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on March 4, 2020, The IMF stands ready to support vulnerable countries with different lending facilities, including through rapid-disbursing emergency financing, which could amount up to $50 billion for low-income and emerging markets. Of this, $10 billion is available at zero interest for the poorest members through the Rapid Credit Facility.

What lending instruments does the IMF have to provide emergency financing to address coronavirus?
The IMF has two facilities—the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) created in 2009 and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) set up in 2011— that provide emergency financial assistance to member countries without the need to have a full-fledged program in place. These loans can be disbursed very quickly to assist member countries implement policies to address emergencies such as the coronavirus.
Financing under the RCF is available to low income countries. It carries a zero interest rate, has a grace period of 5½ years, and a final maturity of 10. Members have used this facility 29 times, including last year for Mozambique in the wake of Cyclone Idai and in 2014-15 for Guinea and Liberia to confront the Ebola outbreak. Financial assistance provided under the RFI is subject to the same financing terms as the  Stand-By Arrangement (interest rates are currently about 1½ percent), and should be repaid within 3¼ to 5 years. Members have used this facility five times  – for instance, in 2016, the IMF provided an RFI emergency loan to Ecuador after one of the strongest earthquakes in decades.

What is the breakdown of $50 billion emergency financing available under IMF facilities?
Under both the RCF and RFI facilities, member countries can draw up to 50 percent of their quota—their share in the IMF’s capital. Total emergency lending to low income countries available under the emergency financing facilities is $10 billion. For emerging markets, we looked at those member countries markets that could potentially approach us for financial support and excluded those who have ample reserves, steady access to the financial markets, or existing IMF precautionary facilities such as Mexico. Emergency financing available for this group would amount to $40 billion.
The total number of countries with access of up to $50 billion under these two facilities or augmentation of existing arrangements is about 130. In both cases, we have excluded members that either have arrears to the Fund and/or World Bank or where we have assessed the debt situation to be unsustainable. The Fund is prevented by its policies to lend in such circumstances.

Who exactly within the countries receives the funds?
The balance of payment needs emerging from coronavirus could come from different sources, including direct health expenditure and economic spillovers. The funds are lent to the authorities (government or central bank).

The IMF Managing Director mentioned in her blog that many countries have expressed interest in help from the IMF. Are these countries expressing interest in the regular IMF programs, or in the $50 billion in emergency funding announced by the MD earlier this month? Or is it a combination of the two types of financing?
The countries that have expressed interest in financing are a mix of countries, some of which currently have programs and some don’t currently have programs but are looking for rapid financing.
Expressing an interest does not necessarily mean a formal request has been made but that countries are discussing options for assistance. The most logical option for many of these countries would be to explore the emergency financing facilities under which MD Georgieva said $50 billion in financing would be available.

What are the requirements for countries to qualify for the US$50 bn available resources to help tackle the Coronavirus related impacts? Can any member country apply? What about countries under programs at the moment? What about countries who are undergoing debt restructuring processes to re-establish debt sustainability?
Any IMF member may apply. There are some requirements for support under the RCF and RFI emergency financing instruments,including that the county’s debt is sustainable or on track to be sustainable, that it has urgent balance of payments needs, and that it is pursuing appropriate policies to address the crisis.
For countries that have existing Fund arrangements in place, it may be appropriate to augment the arrangements, or in cases where that may not be feasible to do on a timely basis, they may request support under the RCF or RFI.
As noted, a country’s debt needs to be considered sustainable or on track to be sustainable for the Fund to provide support. We take into account any debt restructuring operation underway and its prospects for success, which underscores the importance of every stakeholder making an effort to support countries in distress.

Can you explain the process and timeline when a country makes a formal request for the US$50 bn available resources?
After a country has formally requested support, staff will assess qualification requirements, work with the authorities to prepare a letter of intent, and prepare a staff report for the IMF Executive Board.

How quickly could we see financial assistance to them?
We are expediting members’ requests, but the speed of disbursements depends very much on individual circumstances.

Are the existing US$ 50 billion financing facilities enough in light of the recent developments?
The $50 billion provides an order of magnitude for possible requests for our rapid financing facilities; the Fund’s total lending resources amount to about $1 trillion. 

Could you remind us how the IMF can mobilize $1 trillion?
Resources for IMF loans to its members on non-concessional terms are provided by member countries, primarily through their payment of quotas. Multilateral and bilateral borrowing serve as a second and third line of defense, respectively, by providing a temporary supplement to quota resources. These borrowed resources played a critical role in enabling the IMF to support its member countries during the global economic crisis.
The IMF’s current total resources amounting to about SDR 975 billion translate into a capacity for lending or “firepower” of about SDR 715 billion (around US$ 1 trillion), after setting aside a liquidity buffer and considering that only resources of members with strong external position are used for lending.
For more information, please see factsheet “Where the IMF Gets Its Money”: https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Where-the-IMF-Gets-Its-Money

Will an increase of the total US$1 trillion firepower be needed? Is this being discussed?
The IMF is well resourced to meet the financing requests of its member countries, and we stand ready to deploy our balance sheet to assist our member countries in this difficult time.
Compliments of the International Monetary Fund.

The European Commission has adopted a Temporary Framework to enable Member States to use the full flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Together with many other support measures that can be used by Member States under the existing State aid rules, the Temporary Framework enables Member States to ensure that sufficient liquidity remains available to businesses of all types and to preserve the continuity of economic activity during and after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “The economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is severe. We need to act fast to manage the impact as much as we can. And we need to act in a coordinated manner. This new Temporary Framework enables Member States to use the full flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy at this difficult time.”
The State aid Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, based on Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, recognises that the entire EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance. To remedy that, the Temporary Framework provides for five types of aid:
(i)  Direct grants, selective tax advantages and advance payments: Member States will be able to set up schemes to grant up to €800,000 to a company to address its urgent liquidity needs.
(ii)  State guarantees for loans taken by companies from banks: Member States will be able to provide State guarantees to ensure banks keep providing loans to the customers who need them.
(iii) Subsidised public loans to companies: Member States will be able to grant loans with favourable interest rates to companies. These loans can help businesses cover immediate working capital and investment needs.
(iv) Safeguards for banks that channel State aid to the real economy: Some Member States plan to build on banks’ existing lending capacities, and use them as a channel for support to businesses – in particular to small and medium-sized companies. The Framework makes clear that such aid is considered as direct aid to the banks’ customers, not to the banks themselves, and gives guidance on how to ensure minimal distortion of competition between banks.
(v) Short-term export credit insurance: The Framework introduces additional flexibility on how to demonstrate that certain countries are not-marketable risks, thereby enabling short-term export credit insurance to be provided by the State where needed.
Given the limited size of the EU budget, the main response will come from Member States’ national budgets. The Temporary Framework will help target support to the economy, while limiting negative consequences to the level playing field in the Single Market.
The Temporary Framework therefore includes a number of safeguards. For example, It links the subsidised loans or guarantees to businesses to the scale of their economic activity, by reference to their wage bill, turnover, or liquidity needs, and to the use of the public support for working or investment capital. The aid should therefore help businesses to weather the downturn and to prepare a sustainable recovery.
The Temporary Framework complements the many other possibilities already available to Member States to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, in line with EU State aid rules. On 13 March 2020, the Commission adopted a Communication on a Coordinated economic response to the COVID-19 outbreak setting out these possibilities. For example, Member States can make generally applicable changes in favour of businesses (e.g. deferring taxes, or subsidising short-time work across all sectors), which fall outside State Aid rules. They can also grant compensation to companies for damage suffered due to and directly caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This can be useful to support particularly impacted sectors, such as transport, tourism, hospitality and retail.
The Framework will be in place until the end of December 2020. With a view to ensuring legal certainty, the Commission will assess before that date if it needs to be extended.
Background
State aid rules enable Member States to take swift and effective action to support citizens and companies, in particular SMEs, facing economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Temporary Framework adopted today complements the ample possibilities for Member States to design measures in line with existing EU State aid rules, as set out in the Communication on a Coordinated economic response to the COVID-19 outbreak of 13 March 2020. In particular, they can adopt measures that fall outside the scope of State aid control, such as national funds granted to health services or other public services to tackle the Covid-19. Member States can also immediately act through public support measures that are available to all companies such as wage subsidies, suspension of payments of corporate and value added taxes or social contributions. In addition, Member States can grant financial support directly to consumers, for example for cancelled services or tickets that are not reimbursed by the operators concerned.
In addition, EU State aid rules enable Member States to help companies cope with liquidity shortages and needing urgent rescue aid. Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enables Member States to compensate companies for the damage directly caused by exceptional occurrences, such as those caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, including measures in sectors such as aviation and tourism.
The Commission had adopted a Temporary Framework in 2008, in response to the global financial crisis.
For More Information
Communication from the Commission – Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak
 
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Please see below a a press release from the European Central Bank (ECB):
• ECB and other major central banks to offer 7-day US dollar operations on a daily basis
• Operations with 84-day maturity continue to be offered weekly
• New frequency effective as of 23 March 2020, to remain in place for as long as appropriate to support smooth functioning of US dollar funding markets
The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank are today announcing a coordinated action to further enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing US dollar liquidity swap line arrangements.
To improve the swap lines’ effectiveness in providing US dollar funding, these central banks have agreed to increase the frequency of 7-day maturity operations from weekly to daily. These daily operations will commence on Monday, 23 March 2020, and will continue at least through the end of April. The central banks also will continue to hold weekly 84-day maturity operations.
The swap lines among these central banks are available standing facilities and serve as an important liquidity backstop to ease strains in global funding markets, thereby helping to mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses, both domestically and abroad.
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Please see below an overview of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 
EIB Group: Coronavirus crisis response
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An updated message from NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Office for International Affairs regarding NYC’s response to COVID-19. Thursday, March 19, 2020.
Dear Colleagues,
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep you informed on the City’s response to COVID-19, the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs is sharing the following information from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press conference on Thursday, March 19, 2020:
Statistics (as of 10 a.m. Thursday):
3,615 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in NYC
               o  By borough: 980 cases in Queens; 976 in Manhattan; 1,030 in Brooklyn;  463 in the Bronx; 165 on Staten Island
22 deaths in NYC
The Mayor noted that these numbers are growing rapidly due in part to expanded testing capacity; he also reiterated that 80% of all cases will be mild
Supply Needs
Mayor de Blasio has requested the federal government supply the following to help combat COVID-19 in NYC:
3 million N-95 masks
50 million surgical masks
15 thousand ventilators
25 million each of: surgical gowns, coveralls, gloves, face masks
Rikers Island
One inmate on Rikers Island has tested positive; this is the first such case
Eight other inmates are exhibiting symptoms and have also been moved to isolation
The City will begin releasing inmates with health vulnerabilities and who are deemed low risk offenders
40 such persons have been added on that list
The City is now awaiting clearance from the relevant district attorneys and/or the State of New York
Releases begin today
Health care capacity
More than 1,746 health care professionals have stepped forward to augment ranks of those already serving (these are retirees and health care workers in private offices)
Those with medical training can volunteer by going to nyc.gov/helpnownyc
Testing Capacity
Mayor de Blasio and NYC Health + Hospitals today announced expanded, appointment-only COVID-19 testing capacity across 10 acute-care hospitals, seven Gotham Health community-based health centers, and 4 drive-thru test sites.  
Telecommuting
Mayor continued to encourage people to telework if there are non-essential employees; two-thirds of City employees will no longer be working at their traditional work sites starting Sunday.
If any New Yorker is still not telecommuting, you must – employers need to be creative and help employees stay home. Employees can call 311 and ask for the NYC Commission on Human Rights for assistance.
Public Assistance
The City is no longer conducting in-person interviews for food stamps or public assistance; all these services have been converted online
Religious services
Mayor expressed sadness that so many cannot attend their houses of worship and forego religious services; he discouraged at home services with large gatherings.
Keeping NYC Healthy
“Doing more means staying home. If you are not an essential worker, I need you to stay home. If you are developing symptoms, I need you to stay home and stay away from those who are higher risk – those who are over 50 and have underlying conditions.” – Dr. Oxiris Barbot, Commissioner, City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
For updated information on the City’s response to novel coronavirus, text COVID to 692-692 and COVIDESP to 692-692 for updates in Spanish.
Best,
Mayor’s Office for International Affairs

Following the publication of the proposal a few days ago, on 19 March the European Commission adopted the communication introducing a new temporary legal framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak. The last time the Commission had adopted a similar temporary framework was during the global financial crisis in 2008.
The new rules allow national authorities to take urgent and effective measures to help citizens and companies, especially SMEs, to cope with the financial difficulties caused by the economic crisis due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
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Today, the European Commission has decided to create a strategic rescEU stockpile of medical equipment such as ventilators and protective masks to help EU countries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Ursula von der Leyen said: “With the first ever common European reserve of emergency medical equipment we put EU solidarity into action. It will benefit all our Member States and all our citizens. Helping one another is the only way forward.”
Medical equipment part of the stockpile will include items such as:
intensive care medical equipment such as ventilators,
personal protective equipment such as reusable masks,
vaccines and therapeutics,
laboratory supplies.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič said: “The EU is taking action to get more equipment to Member States. We are setting up a rescEU stockpile to rapidly get the supplies needed to fight the coronavirus. It will be used to support Member States facing shortages of equipment needed to treat infected patients, protect health care workers and help slow the spread of the virus. Our plan is to move ahead without delay.”
How the rescEU stockpile works
The stockpile will be hosted by one or several Member States. The hosting State will be responsible for procuring the equipment.
The Commission will finance 90% of the stockpile. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre will manage the distribution of the equipment to ensure it goes where it is needed most.
The initial EU budget of the stockpile is €50 million, of which €40 million is subject to the approval of the budgetary authorities.
In addition, under the Joint Procurement Agreement, Member States are in the process of purchasing personal protective equipment, respiratory ventilators and items necessary for coronavirus testing. This coordinated approach gives Member States a strong position when negotiating with the industry on availability and price of medical products.
Next steps
Once the measure enters into law on Friday 20 March, the Member State wishing to host rescEU stockpiles can apply for a direct grant from the European Commission. The direct grant covers 90 % of the costs of the stockpile while the remaining 10 % are borne by the Member State.
Background
rescEU is part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism which strengthens cooperation between Participating States in the field of civil protection, with a view to improving prevention, preparedness and response to disasters. The proposal upgrades the EU Civil Protection Mechanism’s rescEU reserve of assets that already includes firefighting planes and helicopters. Through the Mechanism, the European Commission plays a key role in coordinating the response to disasters in Europe and beyond.
When the scale of an emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of a country, it can request assistance via the Mechanism.
To date, all EU Member States participate in the Mechanism, as well as Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey. Since its inception in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has responded to over 330 requests for assistance inside and outside the EU.
For more information
Factsheet: EU Civil Protection Mechanism
Compliments of the EU Commission.

President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a comprehensive set of measures that will:
Ensure the adequate supply of protective equipment and medical supplies across Europe;
Cushion the blow for people’s livelihoods and the economy by applying full flexibility of EU fiscal rules;
Set up a EUR 37 billion Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative to provide liquidity to small businesses and the health care sector.
Provide a coherent set of guidelines to Member States on border measures to protect citizens’ health while allowing the free flow of essential goods
Restrict temporarily non-essential travel to the European Union
Our priority now is to bend the trend of infection, to give our health systems and workers the time and space to care for those that need it. Our first priority is guaranteeing the health and safety of all our citizens: protecting people from the spread of the virus while maintaining the flow of goods. To this end, the Commission is coordinating daily contact between European Health Ministers and Ministers Interior Affairs.
Science-based guidance is essential. The Commission has launched a board of outstanding scientists — a team of leading epidemiologists and virologists — to anticipate events and develop guidelines and evidence-based strategies for our Union.
Guidelines to national governments on border measures have been provided to guarantee that we protect our citizens’ health while allowing goods and essential staff to reach patients, health systems, factories and shops.  
We are at the beginning of this crisis. The Commission stands ready to do more as the situation evolves.  
The role of the Commission is mainly to support Member States in addressing the crisis, providing recommendations on a common course of action.
The Commission wants to avoid Member States taking uncoordinated or even contradictory measures that ultimately undermine common efforts to fight the outbreak. Coordination and recommendations are therefore necessary in the areas of public health, but also transport, border control, internal markets and trade.
The crisis coordination mechanism of the Commission has been activated and the Crisis Coordination Committee meets regularly to synergise the action of all the relevant departments and services of the Commission and of the EU agencies. It is chaired by Commissioner Janez Lenarčič in his role of European Emergency Response Coordinator.
The Commission has also established a coordinating response team at political level, composed of the commissioners responsible for the most affected policies:
• President Ursula von der Leyen• Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager is in charge of a Europe fit for the digital age 
• Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis  is in charge of an economy that works for people• Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni is in charge of macroeconomic aspects
• Commissioner Thierry Breton is in charge of the internal market
• Commissioner Stella Kyriakides is in charge of all health issues
• Commissioner Janez Lenarčič is in charge of crisis management
• Commissioner Ylva Johansson is in charge of border-related issues
• Commissioner Adina Vălean is in charge of mobility
Compliments of the EU Commission.

Today 17 March, Members of the European Council held a videoconference on COVID 19 in order to follow up on previous conclusions of 10 March 2020 together with the ECB President, the President of the Eurogroup and the High Representative.
We reaffirmed the need to work together and to do everything necessary to tackle the crisis and its consequences.
The priority is the health of our citizens.
On the four priorities identified:
1. Limiting the spread of the virus
We endorsed the guidelines proposed by the Commission on  border management. We need to ensure passage of medicines, food and goods and our citizens must be able to travel to their home countries. Adequate solutions for cross-border workers will be found.
To limit the spread of the virus globally, we agreed to reinforce our external borders by applying a coordinated temporary restriction of non-essential travel to the EU for a period of 30 days, based on the approach proposed by the Commission.
2. Providing medical equipment
We welcomed the decision taken by the Commission to adopt a prior authorisation for export of medical equipment.
We supported the Commission effort to (1) engage  with the industry; (2) to run  joint public procurements that have been recently launched and those which will be shortly  finalized to provide sufficient protective equipment; (3) and purchase of protective equipment through the Civil protection framework.
3. Promoting research
We encouraged the efforts made to support research such as the Advisory Group(link is external) on COVID 19.
We stressed the need to share information and to develop a vaccine and make it available to all those in need. We will support European companies in that respect.
4. Tackling socio-economic consequences
We endorsed the Eurogroup 16 March statement and invited the Eurogroup to continuously and closely monitor economic and financial developments and to adapt without delay a coordinated policy response to the rapidly evolving situation.
We supported the various initiatives taken by the Commission in the areas of the Single Market, such as the adaptation of the State Aid rules and the use of the flexibilities provided for in the Stability and Growth Pact and the recourse to the EU budget. 
The Union and its Member States will do whatever it takes to address the current challenges, to restore confidence and to support a rapid recovery, for the sake of our citizens.
5. Citizens stranded in Third countries.
We committed to coordinate among our embassies and the EU delegations in third countries. The High Representative and the European External action service will support in this regard.
We will jointly arrange repatriation of EU citizens, where necessary and possible, and make use of the Union’s Civil protection mechanism. Additional EU funding for such joint operations will be mobilised.
Member States and institutions will follow-up at all levels immediately. The members of the European Council will come back to this issue in a videoconference  next week. The ordinary European Council scheduled for 26-27 March will be postponed to a later date.
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