European Union (EU) countries are working hard to reach agreement on the multiannual budget and the stimulus package intended to support the bloc's economy in the face of the coronavirus crisis, but bottlenecks persist in the eve of the European Council.

Before the Senate, Prime Minister Jean Castex assured Thursday July 16 that the recovery plan in France of 100 billion euros will be financed for more than a third, or 35 billion euros, by the funds currently negotiated between states from the EU.

This EU contribution "is a major difference" with the 2008 crisis, to which "France and the President of the Republic made a decisive contribution", underlined the Prime Minister during his declaration of general policy in the Senate.

"This European approach we will have to pursue, amplify it in terms of industrial policy" and "ecological policy", continued Jean Castex. "Europe must in this case regain credibility with our fellow citizens", he insisted, calling on the EU to seize the "opportunity" of this crisis.

An extraordinary European summit

Emmanuel Macron is expected from Thursday evening and until Saturday in Brussels to participate in the extraordinary European summit devoted to the recovery plan of 750 billion euros and the multi-annual budget 2021-2027.

This meeting promises to be tense because of the reluctance of the "frugal" States vis-à-vis this recovery plan, composed of 250 billion loans, and especially of subsidies up to 500 billion which will not have to be reimbursed by the beneficiary States .

With AFP and Reuters

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