FX.co ★ EU may not survive coronavirus crisis

The European Union is expected to be the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak consequences could even lead to a collapse of this already disunited group of countries. New disputes about support measures, including the size of equity participation, have again become a stumbling block. At the heart of the conflict, as always, is distrust between an alliance dubbed the "frugal four" - Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden - and economically vulnerable southern member states including Italy, Greece, and Spain. Other members of the European Union have to choose between two extremes. At the same time, being on the edge of collapse, France and Germany came to an agreement and developed a plan to mitigate the devastating economic consequences of the pandemic. Of course, this plan cannot be called perfect, but both countries are working on it. The two countries cooperated in order to cope with the common problem. Thus, it is possible that relations between the EU countries could strengthen amid the virus. Some optimists also suppose that the UK withdrawal from the EU could unite its members even more. The fact is that the UK was against integration and as a result, most EU members were not trying to maintain closer ties.