BERLIN — Euro zone states that need aid from the bloc's bailout fund to tackle the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak should get it quickly without being subjected to lengthy visits and policy proposals from officials, Germany's finance minister said. Olaf Scholz told broadcaster ARD late on Thursday he was convinced the European Stability Mechanism - a bailout fund with 400 billion euros ($434 billion) in firepower - had instruments suitable for use during the coronavirus outbreak, which has hit euro zone countries like Italy and Spain particularly hard. "We have the possibility to say we can do something as a precaution," Scholz said. He added that any such action would be tied to rules but that these needed to be appropriate for the current situation in which funds were required for health and securing jobs. "From my point of view it's especially important to ensure that if a country says it wants to use these funds, that there's not then a load of commissioners who go there and first spend weeks discussing with them how they should change their policies in the coming years," Scholz said.

Source: International New York Times April 03, 2020 06:25 UTC