On Tuesday, May 19 2020, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron announced a joint proposal for a 500 billion euro common fund, to be financed by allowing the European Commission to borrow from the money markets.

The fund will, according to the Merkel-Macron proposal, finance directly businesses across the EU – by means mainly of transfers.

Is this a breakthrough? Here is Yanis Varoufakis’ answer on behalf of DiEM25.

“Even if this latest Merkel-Macron proposal meets the light of day, gets approved, and proceeds exactly as announced (…) it is not a Eurobond. It does not constitute a transfer of debt from member states to the European Union — thus it will not reduce the pressure on Italy on Spain on Greece on France, indeed on Germany, to lessen the austerity wave that’s going to hit our economies next year.”
“It will not end up with small business. It will not end up with those who truly need support in order to survive this huge new recession and the repercussions of the great austerity drive that the European Union’s fiscal stance is going to bring to us next year and the years to come.”
“The European Union will continue to disintegrate as long as these decisions continue to be taken behind closed doors, in castles, in rooms with adults that are not particularly good at even looking after their own interests.”
“DiEM25 is here with our proposals that would be therapeutic for all of Europe, that would unite Europeans and would reverse austerity for the many and socialism for the very few. Carpe Diem.”

What Europe Needs: DiEM25’s 3-Point Plan for the COVID Pandemic

DiEM25’s 3-Point Plan proposes to do what Yanis Varoufakis mentions in his last sentences: to unite Europeans and reverse austerity in Europe.

Step 1: Issue €1 trillion in ECB-Eurobonds
Step 2: Inject a €2000 European Solidarity Cash Payment
Step 3: Introduce a European Green Recovery & Investment Program

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