Economics

ECB Finally Hears EU Cavalry Coming to Help Its Crisis Fight

Fiscal package can aid on financial, legal and economic fronts
Economists still expect central bank to boost its bond-buying

Outside the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

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By Paul Gordon and Piotr Skolimowski

May 20, 2020 at 4:00 AM UTC

Updated on

May 20, 2020 at 11:41 AM UTC

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The European Central Bank is on the verge of finally getting proper help from politicians to fight the region’s economic battles, even if it stays alone on the front line for now.

The proposal by German and French leaders for a 500 billion-euro ($546 billion) aid package to help the European Union shake off the coronavirus pandemic is seen by analysts as a significant step toward a stronger common fiscal policy, complementing the euro’s monetary foundations.