Speaking on the Jim Kent Show on Radio 100,7 on Thursday, Luc Frieden said that he supported both the reopening of borders and of shops as soon as possible for the benefit of the economy.

“You can find a balance between health and economy. Opening shops doesn’t mean you don’t care about the health of the people,” he said. “Some aspects introduced: masks, hand washing and social distancing are very important, at the same time we can open borders and shops, otherwise I think the side effects will be very bad and will have a huge impact on all of us.”

The former CSV finance minister’s words came after the chamber put forward a list of 11 proposals that it said could help the country’s economy restart after many businesses were forced to halt their activities because of the health crisis.

Frieden said that the state had an important role to play in ensuring smaller or weaker businesses survive and he believed it was possible to do so and emerge with sound public finances.

“We need them in future because they’re part of the general economic landscape of our country.

“It’s not just opening shops but thinking what we can do to avoid a major economic crisis after this health crisis,” he said on 30 April.

You can listen to the full interview by clicking ‘play’ on the embedded sound file below: