I believe—and most outside observers agree—that this easing of financial conditions is, at least in part, a direct consequence of the actions the Federal Reserve took at our March 15 meeting, the subsequent announcements over the following days of the creation of nine new credit facilities to support the flow of credit to households and companies, the robust expansion of our existing foreign exchange swap arrangements with major foreign central banks, and the establishment of a new FIMA (Foreign and International Monetary Authorities) Repo Facility with potential eligibility for a broad range of countries.2 While this easing of financial conditions is, of course, welcome, whether it proves to be durable will depend importantly on the course that the coronavirus contagion takes and the duration of the downturn that it causes.
According to survey data, only half of the population favours the introduction of the euro. We certainly need to take such scepticism seriously. Europe cannot simply be a project that is imposed by the elites without the backing of the general public.