The corona crisis will cause the eurozone countries to experience a deeper recession compared to other countries in the world. That said the Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Luis de Guindos. According to the Spaniard, there will already be growth in the second half of this year.

According to De Guindos, it may take until 2021 for the “real recovery” to start. But he already foresees the first signs of growth in the third quarter of this year.

“With all measures in place, Europe is better equipped to respond to this unprecedented crisis,” said the ECB director. The central bank recently launched an emergency package worth € 750 billion in response to what is likely to be the worst eurozone crisis in decades.

Guindos said that government spending to counter the impact of the virus will lead to increased financing needs. He spoke about an amount between 1 trillion and 1.5 trillion euros. Amounts in an order of magnitude that, according to the Spaniard, have never been shown before.

He further labeled euro area debt levels as sustainable, despite increased debt issuance. In his view, the ECB’s actions are further aimed at avoiding fragmentation, because governments want to finance as needed. According to him, scenarios in which debts would be a problem are out of the question.