Eurozone finance ministers on Monday once again promised “a strong economic policy response to the exceptional situation” created by the coronavirus crisis, but failed to agree on any common or coordinated fiscal action to give some flesh to that repeated commitment.

After spending several hours in a conference call, the so-called eurogroup of ministers published a statement “welcoming” measures already taken by other European institutions, such as the European Central Bank, the European Commission or even individual member states, but stopped short of indicating what they might consider if the economic shock brought upon the European economy by the outbreak worsens as expected.