EU commission president Urusla von der Leyen (m) and vice-presidents Margrethe Vestager (l) and Valdis Dombrovskis (r) jointly announced emergency measures to help countries tackle the coronavirus' economic fallout (Photo: European Commission)

Von der Leyen on virus: 'EU will do whatever is necessary'

Health & Society

by Eszter Zalan, Brussels,

The EU Commission plans to free up money for member states while urging them to act quickly in supporting businesses and workers to avoid a prolonged economic crisis amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"It is not possible to stop the virus, and it is of utmost importance to slow down the spread of the virus," said EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen late on Friday (13 March).

"I am convinced that the EU can withstand this shock," she added.

"But each member state need...

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Health & Society

Author Bio

Eszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.

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