*** Before I develop my main points, let me briefly reflect on recent economic developments and the response of economic policies to this once-in-a-lifetime health shock. After recovering from the previous financial and sovereign debt crisis, the growth of the European economy had been slowing in 2018 and 2019 under the influence of increased tensions in international trade and other challenges in European industry.
Despite this weakening of growth, however, we did not expect such an economic turnaround as happened with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Serious disruptions in global supply chains and the announcement of lockdowns affecting large parts of our economies were followed by tensions in the financial markets and the sales revenues of many companies have dried up almost overnight.