Since Friday, the "frugal" resist. The Netherlands and their allies do not give in to calls from Germany and France who try, without success, to influence them for the signing of a recovery plan which would benefit the countries most affected by the pandemic, Spain and Italy in the lead. Faced with the lack of compromise, the 27 will play extra time on July 19, and once again try to reach an agreement. 

On the negotiating table, a fund constituted by a borrowing capacity of 750 billion euros, backed by the long-term EU budget (2021-2027) of 1 074 billion euros. The unanimity of the 27 member states being required, a compromise is particularly difficult.

France and Germany are sparing no efforts 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has held the presidency of the Union since July 1, and French President Emmanuel Macron have spared no effort in adopting this plan, made all the more urgent as the Europe is threatened with a historic recession.

After a dinner on Saturday, the President of the Council, conductor of the summit, Charles Michel gathered the French President, the German Chancellor, the leaders of the four "frugaux" (Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden) to whom that of Finland is attached. 

"This meeting was very hard," said two European sources. Merkel and Macron ended up leaving the meeting for an interview at their hotel with Italian leader Giuseppe Conte, according to a diplomatic source. The chancellor and the French president will meet Charles Michel on Sunday morning to decide on the procedure to be followed, a diplomatic source said. 

Optionally, modification of the distributions

Saturday, Charles Michel made three new proposals, mainly concessions made to the "frugals". First, the increase in discounts from which these countries benefit, a kind of gift which lowers their national contribution to the European budget. But for Austria, it's still not enough. "The discounts for Austria have been increased. It is not quite enough, we want a little more. But the management is good," said Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor.

The Chairman of the Board also proposes to modify the distribution between grants and loans, the "frugal" preferring loans to grants. The new plan still provides for an amount of 750 billion euros but with funds composed of 300 billion loans and 450 billion in grants (compared to a 250-500 ratio at the start). Paris and Berlin have nevertheless refused to lower subsidies below the amount of 400 billion.

The last concession concerns the governance of this recovery plan. The frugal countries demand to be able to suspend payments if they believe that the money is misused by the countries of the south. The President of the Council evokes a mechanism which would allow any State which has doubts about the use of this money to convene a debate before the European Council. But the southern states fear that this would force them to submit to an imposed reform program (labor market, pensions, etc.). 

Charles Michel should make a new proposal Sunday, after the interviews carried out during the night.

With AFP 

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