The COVID-19 crisis has devastated people’s lives, jobs, and businesses. Governments have taken forceful measures to cushion the blow, totaling a staggering $12 trillion globally. These lifelines have saved lives and livelihoods. But they are costly and, together with sharp falls in tax revenues owing to the recession, they have pushed global public debt to an all-time high of close to 100 percent of GDP. With many workers still unemployed, small businesses struggling, and 80‑90 million people likely to fall into...

Today, the Commission announces the first provisional results of the implementation of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+). From the beginning of the crisis, and thanks to the flexibility introduced in the Cohesion Policy, the EU mobilised over €13 billion in investments to tackle the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF). The EU funds helped national, regional and local communities in countering the...

Today the Council adopted a recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restrictions of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This recommendation aims to avoid fragmentation and disruption, and to increase transparency and predictability for citizens and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives in many ways. Travel restrictions have made it difficult for some of our citizens to get to work, to university or to visit their loved ones. It is our common duty to...

October 06, 2020 | Speech by Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director | Washington, D.C. As prepared for delivery 1. Introduction: A World Turned Upside Down Dear Minouche, thank you for the warm welcome! I am honored to celebrate with all of you the 125th anniversary of the London School of Economics. It is a proud moment for the students and faculty, and for the alumni. As an alumna of LSE and as Managing Director of the IMF, I know that our institutions share so many of...

October 06, 2020 | Speech by Jerome H. Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at the National Association for Business Economics Virtual Annual Meeting | Good morning. It has been just eight months since the pandemic first gained a foothold on our shores, bringing with it the sharpest downturn on record, as well as the most forceful policy response in living memory. Although it is too early for definitive conclusions, today I will offer a current assessment of the response...

Today, the European Commission announces that it will issue its forthcoming EU SURE bonds of up to €100 billion as social bonds. To that end, the Commission has adopted an independently evaluated Social Bond Framework. This Framework is meant to provide investors in these bonds with confidence that the funds mobilised will serve a truly social objective. This announcement follows the Council's approval to grant financial support to 16 Member States under the SURE instrument to help protect jobs and people...