Covid-19: the 27 instruct the Commission to present a recovery fund by 6 May

Text by: Pierre Benazet Follow

The 27 heads of state and government of the European Union met for just over four hours by videoconference this Thursday for the fourth time since the start of the pandemic. At the center of the debates was the delicate question of reviving the European economy after the pandemic. The 27 have not yet managed to find a full recovery plan and instruct the European Commission to prepare a plan.

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From our correspondent in Brussels,

The heads of state and government have transferred to the European Commission the task of preparing the global recovery plan which they have not managed to tie up this Thursday after trying a month ago to load it without successful finance ministers.

The French proposal for innovative financial tools was supported by Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, who saw it as a way to achieve the issuance of a form of common debt.

This group of countries claims between one trillion and one trillion and a half, or one thousand to one thousand five hundred billion euros, in the form of a recovery plan guaranteed by all, which very closely resembles the issue of common bonds. and therefore to the famous corona-bonds, as they are nicknamed in English.

Opposite, the doubts of Germany have enabled countries hostile to a common debt like Austria, Sweden or the Netherlands to oppose this proposal. It is therefore the European Commission that will have to find the miracle solution by the next summit on May 6.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already announced her intention to request that the common EU budget be doubled to 2% of the GDP of the 27 countries.

Macron calls for massive plan

At the end of this European Council, Emmanuel Macron spoke from the Élysée to reaffirm France's desire to convince its partners to work on the development of a massive recovery plan, which can implement the "  Solidarity  " vis-à-vis the most affected countries.

If we drop part of Europe, all of Europe will fall. This virus is an exceptional shock, so it implies an exceptional response.

French President Emmanuel Macron

Valérie Gas

► Read also: Coronavirus: a crucial European summit to revive the economy

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