16:23 23 May 2020
'Perpetual bonds to save EU'
In an interview, published on Friday, May 22, George Soros has set out how the European Union (EU) can maintain its AAA rating and finance its Covid-19 recovery package.
Through supporting ‘perpetual bonds’ – or ‘Consols’, as they are known in the UK and US – Mr Soros believes the EU can address the dual crises of Covid-19 and climate change, which currently threaten the bloc. He argues that ‘Consols’ present a credible alternative to raising the EU budget and would provide relief funds that could be targeted at member states hardest hit by the health pandemic, such as Italy and Spain.
The authorization process for the issuing of bonds – which would run on an indefinite term, and only require the servicing of interest – could be completed in a matter of weeks, and in time for the May 27, 2020, European Summit to accept them as a desirable alternative. He urges the Dutch people, and the wider Hanseatic countries, to give this proposal consideration as a means of averting an increase in their European budget contributions.
He claims that the coronavirus damage to the eurozone economy would last longer than most people think. One of the problems is that the virus itself is rapidly evolving and changing the way it attacks human organs. This will make it much harder to develop a reliable vaccine.
(WBJ)
