It appears that a "Project Eurobond" for the pandemic recovery has now been agreed by France and Germany - EUR500bn in new debt back proposed directly by the EU budget (i.e. not ESM style by member state guarantees) - bundeskanzlerin.de/bkin-de/aktuel…
This is a really, really big deal deal, even if many may quip about the size of the fund. If approved by the EU27, this proposal would set the precedent for "joint expenditures for joint struggles", which is the definition of a "Hamiltonian moment" in Europe. Crucial 2/n
precedent being set is that EU countries can issue joint debt to fight a common problem (recall that Hamilton "merely" consolidated US states' war debts). This time it took a historic pandemic to reach this agreement - next time, however, the threshold may be lower and 3/n
political leaders may simply decide that a particular problem - say climate, refugees, natural disasters - facing Europe is best solved by (more) joint debt. A crucial red line in fiscal integration may just have been breached in the EU. ENDS
