The Economist Continental Europe Edition July 25, 2020

Politics After intense wrangling, the heads of government in the European Union agreed to a €750bn ($869bn) stimulus package. The negotiations were even more tricky than usual, though the outcome was hailed as a breakthrough. It is the first time the EU as a bloc will issue bonds on a huge scale to back stimulus, spreading the fiscal risk among all member countries. A long-delayed report into Russian interference in British political life was published by Parliament’s intelligence and security committee. The report stated that the threat from Russia was more embedded, and has been a problem for longer, than previously thought. Russian interference is seen as the “new normal”. It said the government is playing catch-up, especially in cyberespionage, in which Russia is a “highly capable” adversary. Iran’s president,…

The World Health Organisation reported new record daily increases for global infections and deaths. The spread of covid-19 accelerated in Australia; the number of cases detected on July 22nd, eclipsed the previous record. A quarter of Delhi’s population has had the virus, according to a government study. Argentina began easing restrictions it imposed in March at the start of its lockdown, one of the longest in Latin America. The Bahamas banned most tourists from entering the islands either by air or sea. Visitors who test negative from Britain, Canada and the EU will still be allowed in, though Americans are by far the biggest group of visitors. With infections soaring in the United States, Donald Trump urged Americans to wear face masks, calling it “patriotic”. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences please…

The World Health Organisation reported new record daily increases for global infections and deaths. The spread of covid-19 accelerated in Australia; the number of cases detected on July 22nd, eclipsed the previous record. A quarter of Delhi’s population has had the virus, according to a government study. Argentina began easing restrictions it imposed in March at the start of its lockdown, one of the longest in Latin America. The Bahamas banned most tourists from entering the islands either by air or sea. Visitors who test negative from Britain, Canada and the EU will still be allowed in, though Americans are by far the biggest group of visitors. With infections soaring in the United States, Donald Trump urged Americans to wear face masks, calling it “patriotic”. For our latest coverage of…

Politics After intense wrangling, the heads of government in the European Union agreed to a €750bn ($869bn) stimulus package. The negotiations were even more tricky than usual, though the outcome was hailed as a breakthrough. It is the first time the EU as a bloc will issue bonds on a huge scale to back stimulus, spreading the fiscal risk among all member countries. A long-delayed report into Russian interference in British political life was published by Parliament’s intelligence and security committee. The report stated that the threat from Russia was more embedded, and has been a problem for longer, than previously thought. Russian interference is seen as the “new normal”. It said the government is playing catch-up, especially in cyberespionage, in which Russia is a “highly capable” adversary. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said…

IT IS SOMETIMES said that governments wasted the global financial crisis of 2007-09 by failing to rethink economic policy after the dust settled. Nobody will say the same about the covid-19 pandemic. It has led to a desperate scramble to enact policies that only a few months ago were either unimaginable or heretical. A profound shift is now taking place in economics as a result, of the sort that happens only once in a generation. Much as in the 1970s when clubby Keynesianism gave way to Milton Friedman’s austere monetarism, and in the 1990s when central banks were given their independence, so the pandemic marks the start of a new era. Its overriding preoccupation will be exploiting the opportunities and containing the enormous risks that stem from a supersized level…

IT IS SOMETIMES said that governments wasted the global financial crisis of 2007-09 by failing to rethink economic policy after the dust settled. Nobody will say the same about the covid-19 pandemic. It has led to a desperate scramble to enact policies that only a few months ago were either unimaginable or heretical. A profound shift is now taking place in economics as a result, of the sort that happens only once in a generation. Much as in the 1970s when clubby Keynesianism gave way to Milton Friedman’s austere monetarism, and in the 1990s when central banks were given their independence, so the pandemic marks the start of a new era. Its overriding preoccupation will be exploiting the opportunities and containing the enormous risks that stem from a supersized level…