Post-coronavirus European recovery plan: differences to be overcome between the 27

The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at the end of the European summit in videoconference format, in Brussels, Belgium on June 19, 2020. Olivier Hoslet / Pool via REUTERS

Text by: RFI Follow

It was the first time that they exchanged at 27 on the post-coronavirus recovery plan proposed by the commission: 750 billion euros, an unprecedented amount made up of 500 billion in grants and 250 billion in loans, we knew already, and the German Chancellor welcomed it, there is an agreement on the principle of common debt, a first. But the size of the plan and the principle of subsidies remain a real obstacle, the 4 so-called “frugal” countries (Austria, Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark) camp on their position, starting with the Netherlands and Sweden.

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"  There will be major improvements before the budget and the stimulus fund are really good  ", the sentence is from the Swedish Prime Minister. "  It is not sure that we can finish in July or even this summer  ", this statement is this time from the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

A cold shower, especially as Mark Rutte added: “  It doesn't matter if we don't reach an agreement in July. Some countries keep up the pressure but we are the result that matters to us ”. The head of the Dutch executive has it in mind: it is not only the Franco-German tandem, or Italy and the Spanish, who want an agreement as soon as possible to unlock the money for the savings that need it.

Other voices insist, like Fabio Panetta; this member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank declared this Friday in the newspaper Le Monde : "The  longer we wait to deploy the EU stimulus fund, the heavier the bill  ". In any case, the Swedish and Dutch Prime Ministers have a political class and an opinion behind them. According to a poll published in a Dutch newspaper, 61% of Dutch people are against the plan, and only 4% support it.

The 27 are to meet for a physical summit in mid-July.

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  • European Union
  • Coronavirus

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