Second: at what point should the current system of creditor forbearance begin to adjust, and pre-pandemic insolvency criteria begin to apply? The continuation of unviable businesses indefinitely would lead to long-run economic damage through capital misallocation, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “zombie lending”. Similarly, the government must also take its fiscal sustainability into account as it plans for further direct support.
Having left his mark on his country’s politics, he rose to top positions in the European Union and, in this capacity, worked hard on European integration. He is one of the great Europeanists, following in the footsteps of Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand, with his firm conviction that European integration is the only way forward and that this path is irreversible.