BRUSSELS – The European Union will do whatever it takes, from granting state aid to companies to setting up a special liquidity investment fund to tackle the financial impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, EU member states’ leaders said late on Tuesday.

“We are ready to use all the necessary tools,” they said during a videoconference on the response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reassured that all available tools would be used to support the economies affected by the epidemic.

Among the measures to be taken, she cited state aid to firms in difficulty, flexibility in implementing the Stability and Growth Pact, as well as the establishment of a special fund called the “corona-fund” that will provide 25 billion euros for investment with the view to boosting the economy in the short term. She also said she would ask the European Parliament to allocate 7.5 billion euros from the structural funds.