The Hungarian and Polish governments have vetoed the EU’s actual plan to deal with the economic crisis.
The standoff has no clear end in sight and it questions the future of the EU,
where many important decisions need to be taken by consensus.
LONDON — George Soros has changed his mind about how the European Union should finance the costs
of the coronavirus pandemic, warning investors have now lost faith the political bloc will survive.
The billionaire investor had previously said the EU should issue “perpetual bonds” — meaning the principal amount
of the money borrowed would never be repaid, only the annual interest payments.
It assumes the EU would last forever and therefore keep paying the interest back to the lender.
Perpetual bonds are also designed to allow the region to fund projects at very low costs.
However, a recent dispute between Poland and Hungary and the rest of the EU has put the bloc
in a “very difficult situation,” according to Soros.
“Right now, it would be impossible for the EU to issue perpetual bonds,
because the member states are too divided,” Soros wrote in an opinion article on Monday.
“Investors will buy perpetual bonds only from an entity that they believe will continue to exist for the foreseeable future… Sadly,
it is not true of the EU today,” he said.
This is because the Hungarian and Polish governments have vetoed the EU’s actual plan to deal with the economic crisis.
They oppose linking the disbursements of EU bunds with the respect of the rule of law mechanism,
which checks whether countries are complying with European values.
The standoff has no clear end in sight and it questions the future of the EU,
where many important decisions need to be taken by consensus.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/george-soros-has-changed-his-mind-on-europe-amid-doubts-over-the-future-of-the-eu.html 
George Soros has changed his mind on Europe amid doubts over the future of the EU
The standoff has no clear end in sight and it questions the future of the EU,
where many important decisions need to be taken by consensus.
LONDON — George Soros has changed his mind about how the European Union should finance the costs
of the coronavirus pandemic, warning investors have now lost faith the political bloc will survive.
The billionaire investor had previously said the EU should issue “perpetual bonds” — meaning the principal amount
of the money borrowed would never be repaid, only the annual interest payments.
It assumes the EU would last forever and therefore keep paying the interest back to the lender.
Perpetual bonds are also designed to allow the region to fund projects at very low costs.
However, a recent dispute between Poland and Hungary and the rest of the EU has put the bloc
in a “very difficult situation,” according to Soros.
“Right now, it would be impossible for the EU to issue perpetual bonds,
because the member states are too divided,” Soros wrote in an opinion article on Monday.
“Investors will buy perpetual bonds only from an entity that they believe will continue to exist for the foreseeable future… Sadly,
it is not true of the EU today,” he said.
This is because the Hungarian and Polish governments have vetoed the EU’s actual plan to deal with the economic crisis.
They oppose linking the disbursements of EU bunds with the respect of the rule of law mechanism,
which checks whether countries are complying with European values.
The standoff has no clear end in sight and it questions the future of the EU,
where many important decisions need to be taken by consensus.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/george-soros-has-changed-his-mind-on-europe-amid-doubts-over-the-future-of-the-eu.html