On May 8 the Eurogroup (informal body where the ministers of the euro area member states discuss matters relating to their shared responsibilities related to the euro) agreed on the features and standardized terms of the Pandemic Crisis Support, available to all euro area Member States for amounts of 2% of the respective Member’s GDP as of end-2019, as a benchmark, to support domestic financing of direct and indirect healthcare, cure and prevention-related costs due to the COVID-19 crisis.. (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/05/08/eurogroup-statement-on-the-pandemic-crisis-support/)
The European Commission decided to postpone the entry into force of two EU taxation measures to take account of the difficulties that businesses and Member States are facing at the moment with the coronavirus crisis. Those include the VAT e-commerce package (postponed by 6 months, will apply as of 1 July 2021 instead of 1 January 2021) and to defer certain deadlines for filing and exchanging information under the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC). (https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/news/taxation-commission-proposes-postponement-taxation-rules-due-coronavirus-crisis_en)
The Commission published a communication on the 13th of May named "Tourism and transport in 2020 and beyond". It is composed of three guidelines and a recommendation to help EU countries gradually lift travel restrictions, allow businesses to reopen and ensure that people in Europe can benefit from a safe and relaxing summer after months of confinement while respecting necessary health precautions. (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_854)
In a resolution on the post-2020 EU budget revision and economic recovery plans, MEPs demand a robust package, focused on citizens’ needs and building on the EU budget. This includes a €2 trillion recovery package to tackle COVID-19 fallout. (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_772)
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has called for a “swift, sizeable and symmetrical” spending package to counter the coronavirus crisis in the EU. Lagarde told an online forum Friday that a common European fiscal response was “desirable” to counter differences among countries in the depth of the pandemic’s fallout. (https://www.politico.eu/article/lagarde-urges-swift-sizeable-spending-to-bolster-economy/)
