Conte arrived in Meseberg, welcomed by Angela Merkel: bilateral before the European Council

2020-07-13T14:42:02.282Z

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has arrived at Meseberg Castle in Brandenburg, where he will meet Angela Merkel for a bilateral meeting, in view of the European Council next Friday and Saturday in which the EU heads of state and government will try to find an agreement on the Recovery Plan and the MFF, the EU's Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2021-27. The Chancellor arrived at the entrance to welcome the premier, with whom she will have a business dinner tonight. The appointment with the Chancellor follows the visit to The Hague, where Conte met the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, leader of the so-called Frugal countries, among the most reluctant to give the green light to the transfers intended to help the countries of Southern Europe to overcome the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Conte is also expected to see President Emmanuel Macron on the eve of the summit on Thursday 16 July. Conte and Merkel are expected to hold a joint press conference around 5.30pm. The President of the European Council Charles Michel has put on the table a compromise proposal based on a series of modifications aimed at the 500 billion loan package (in reality a small part are guarantees) and 250 of loans, the size of which has been reconfirmed. Among the most significant changes is that of the process that the recovery and resilience plans will have to follow, which the countries will have to submit to access the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the heart of the recovery plan. While in the Commission proposal the plans followed the ordinary comitology procedure, which gives the Commission a lot of power, the one foreseen in the compromise proposal sees an important role for the Council, the institution representing the Member States. The interview with The Fact "The President of the European Council Charles Michel made a mediation proposal in view of the summit on 17 and 18 July. The positive aspect is that his proposal confirms the amount of the Recovery Fund and its distribution between grants and loans. But it contains some critical aspects that must be overcome. I trust that this will happen already at the next meeting: the negotiation must be finalized already within this month ". The Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, explains it in an interview with the "Done".