Italy is going through a difficult
situation and its experience in fighting the spread of
coronavirus will probably be helpful for all countries of the
European Union, President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement
late on Thursday.
Initiatives of solidarity and not moves that can hinder its
actions are therefore expected, at least for the common
interest, Mattarella also said.
Earlier on Thursday, European Central Bank President
Christine Lagarde said the QE program would be upped to 120
billion euros this year but did not cut interest rates and
stopped short of saying the ECB would do "everything it takes",
in predecessor Mario Draghi's words, to stem the virus
emergency.
Stocks dropped sharply after her intervention and the
Italo-German bond spread spiked.
Lagarde later said the ECB would "be there" to help Italy
face the economic and financial fallout from the coronavirus
emergency.
She said the ECB's instruments were "available to Italy, we
are working against fragmentation (of the eurozone), we will be
there - there should be no doubt about that".
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