On Wednesday 9 December, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) will publish a review of the risks, challenges and opportunities in the EU’s economic policy response to the COVID-19 crisis.
ABOUT THE REVIEW
The EU and its Member States implemented a variety of measures to limit and counter the economic damage caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This review provides an integrated overview of these measures taken at national level by June and EU level by August 2020. The review also flags risks, challenges and opportunities for the future of EU economic coordination.
In Spring 2020, the ECA decided to launch two reviews in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: one on the public health aspect – coming in January 2021, and the other on the economic response – to be published now.
ABOUT THE TOPIC
The COVID-19 pandemic reached the EU in February 2020, rapidly spread through all Member States, leading to a peak in mortality in April, and continues to pose a major health threat, both in Europe and worldwide. Member States implemented a wide range of lockdown and prevention measures, which led to a reduction in contagion, but the resurgence in cases in the autumn of 2020 again posed challenges to health and economic systems alike.
Since March 2020, the economic shock of the lockdowns has necessitated EU and national economic policy measures on a large scale in response to the COVID-19 crisis to compensate for the loss of revenue for businesses and households.
FOR THE PRESS
In the afternoon before publication, the ECA press office will hold a technical virtual briefing for journalists: contact press@eca.europa.eu for details. The report and press release will be published on the ECA website eca.europa.eu the same day at 16:00 Luxembourg time.
The ECA’s reviews cover different EU-related policy and management topics, and their objectives vary. They may provide scene-setting description and analysis based on the ECA’s published audits, often from a cross-cutting perspective. They are also used to present the ECA’s analysis of areas or issues not yet audited, or to establish facts on specific topics or problems.