You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service. This is Hard Talk with me, Stephen Sacker.

Thanks for downloading this edition of the program. I do hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker.

My guest today is a politician playing a leading role in European efforts to develop an economic recovery strategy

following the severe damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mario Centeno is Portugal's finance minister.

He's also the president of the Euro Group of EU Finance Ministers and commands widespread respect across the continent for his

management of a Portuguese economy, which, till the pandemic hit, was one of Europe's success stories.

Now, though, every EU member state has to confront a harsh reality. An economic slump worse than anything seen since World

War II and a widening gap between the nations, mostly of the North, which have sound

financial foundations and those, mostly of the South, burdened by debt and structural weakness.

Can the EU find a pathway to recovery that enhances

solidarity without intensifying populist Euroscepticism in a host of member states? Well, Mario

Centeno joins me now from Lisbon. Welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you for having me.

We saw deep divisions within the European Union at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Have those divisions been healed? Well, if you look back, you may see that these divisions

have played a role in all the debate.

But at the end of the day, we were able to act fast in a very flexible way.

And for me, as president of the Eurogroup, which is very important, in a very pragmatic way. We had a few goals to achieve, to

react quickly in a sizable way and in a way that prevent further fragmentation of the European

Union and especially in the Eurozone. But Minister, if I may, you didn't really react quickly, did you?

We saw the Chinese government offer medical assistance to Italy

...