Europe still can’t resolve its main problem – who pays for everything?

Europe is trying to agree measures to get its worst-hit members back on their feet once the coronavirus pandemic is over. But nobody wants to foot the bill. John Stepek looks at what it all means for the future of the EU.

Angela Merkel © MICHAEL KAPPELER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Angela Merkel: won't agree grants © Getty
(Image credit: Angela Merkel © MICHAEL KAPPELER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Just before I get started today – a reminder that if you’ve not already subscribed to MoneyWeek, there’s never been a better time to do it. You get your first six issues free, and you also get a free copy of my latest ebook on some of history’s biggest booms and busts.

Better yet, you’ll develop a better understanding of what’s going on in financial markets, the global economy, and the monetary system, at a time when every single aspect of those things that we once took for granted, is up for renegotiation (if you think I’m exaggerating, just have a listen to my colleague Merryn’s podcast with Professor Steve Keen).

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John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.