Eurozone ministers have formally approved €240 billion in credit lines to help European countries meet the crippling costs of fighting the coronavirus outbreak.
The plan will be run by the eurozone's rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, and is a first big step for the EU's joint effort to lift an economy projected to contract by 7.7 percent this year.
The ESM handled the rescue of countries such as Ireland from national bankruptcy during the financial crisis. Its aid programmes are usually linked to tough conditions for budget belt-tightening, overseen by outside monitors.
But, under the agreement announced in a joint statement, the EU executive will waive the usual tight supervision as long as the spending remains linked to