Berlin continues to reject EU member states’ pleas for coronavirus Eurobond

Statements by German officials on Monday failed to address pleas by seven coronavirus-stricken EU member states for the issuing of Eurobonds as an instrument of financial protection against the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the German finance ministry's spokesman Dennis Kolberg said that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is the right tool in the face of this health crisis and government spokesman Stephen Zeibert referred to other aspects of EU solidarity among member states.

"We are all in agreement - that fast, effective assistance must be given. That's why the ESM was created and is now ready to act," said Kolberg.

Zeibert referred to the daily transport of patients from Italy and France by German armed forces for treatment in Germany. "This too is an important and visible example of European solidarity," he stressed.