EU fails to pass a half-trillion-euro bailout plan

European Union finance ministers failed to pass an economic rescue plan to counter the impact of the Corona virus outbreak on the economy in the eurozone, prompting Spain to warn that the future of the European Union is at stake if it does not address this crisis.

German Finance Minister Olaf Schultz said a half-trillion-euro economic rescue plan was about to be approved after a video conference on Tuesday and he hoped to pass it when the ministers meet again on Thursday.

The ministers agreed to give the European Investment Bank guarantees that would boost its lending by an additional 200 billion euros to support companies affected by the coronavirus, and they also supported a proposal that the European Union borrow 100 billion euros to support wages.