Centeno says “deep fragmentation” of the single market would be “poisonous” for democracy

Eurogroup President Mario Centeno warned on Thursday of the need to reach an agreement at the European Council on the post-Pandemic recovery plan. “A deep fragmentation of the single market would be poisonous for our democracies,” he warned, calling for a level playing field for countries with different response capacities.

“Remember: in a Union like ours, we are as strong as our weakest member,” he said in a message before the meeting started. That is why the Portuguese Finance Minister is asking for “similar protection” for all countries during the period of economic recovery “that will begin soon”.

Mário Centeno believes the 540 billion euros agreement reached in last week’s Eurogroup meeting prevents the defragmentation of the single market in the immediate term, but considers that more needs to be done to prevent such a situation during the recovery, as countries have different response capacities because of their past debt levels.

As speed is “essential” in a crisis of this size and nature, Centeno asks the European Council to give the “green light” to the agreement reached in the Eurogroup meeting so that these measures are operational before June 1st, with “flexibility” on all sides.

The same speed is expected by Centeno for an agreement at the European Council on the economic recovery fund. And he listed the priorities already set by the Eurogroup, which he will pass on to European leaders: it must have a dimension adjusted to the pandemic crisis, it must spread the costs over time, it must use the EU budget.