The European Commission (EC) has warned the Eurogroup finance ministers that the eurozone economy this year could shrink 10% amid the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported referring to sources.

According to estimates by the European Central Bank (ECB), sources say that overcoming the economic crisis caused by the pandemic may require measures worth up to € 1.5 trillion.

As reported earlier, “after 16h of discussions we came close to a deal but we are not there yet,” said Eurogroup President Mario Centeno on his Twitter account.

The conference will resume on Thursday. Before starting the video conference on Tuesday, Centeno shared a video message and promised that the Eurogroup would host the largest aid program in its history with a total volume of € 540 billion to restore the economy after the coronavirus pandemic. This program should combine the measures and schemes proposed earlier by various EU institutions to assist various sectors of the community’s economy.