Italy on Thursday overtook China as the country worst hit by the highly contagious virus. “No EU member can face this threat alone”“What we all understand is that no member state can face this threat alone. Late on Friday the EU Commission moved to formalize a deal reached by EU finance ministers on March 5 to suspend EU budget rules that limit borrowing, giving Italy and other governments a free hand to fight the disease. Normal budget rules, debt rules for example, will not be applied at this stage,” she said. The lockdown measures imposed in Italy and emulated by several other countries in Europe are likely to trigger a recession and heavy job losses.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 21, 2020 23:48 UTC