• Recovery plan. No agreement, the summit continues
  • Recovery Fund, Conte: with Macron agree on the need to hurry. Europe is at stake
  • The positions stiffen, Recovery Plan blocked

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20 July 2020 Another night of empty negotiations in Brussels on the Recovery Fund and the EU's multi-year budget. A new long night of bilateral, small meetings and mini-summits that was not enough to curb the resistance of the frugal (Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Holland) plus Finland, which, even if with different positions emerged during the night, ask to reduce the volume of fire of the European response to the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has reconvened the plenary meeting for this afternoon at 4 pm in an attempt to go to the bitter end and reach the agreement.

An understanding that today seems less distant. The game is played on the composition of the Recovery and in particular on the size of the subsidies that will be granted to the Member States: Michel will propose the reduction of the subsidies to 400 billion or 390 billion compared to the initial 500 and 450 of the second draft. "Michel said he will propose a solution today with a reduction in subsidies to 400 billion and one to 390 billion", anticipated the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, arriving at the hotel after the night of negotiations on the 'Next generation EU'.

 "The 400 billion solution" of subsidies in the Recovery plan "would lead to a greater rebates for the countries that are entitled to it and the 390 billion solution to a lower discount", he explained. "Right now we are approaching the hard core of the respective positions and the comparison becomes more decisive: I hope we can start evaluating some updates of the items, the result of the intense negotiation of these days", added Conte. As for the other node on the table, that of governance, or how it will be decided to approve the national reform plans presented by the member countries, the Michel proposal provides for the use of a qualified majority and not unanimity and on this point there is a large convergence of countries, but resistance from the frugal remains, especially from Holland. On governance, added Conte, "we have directed the process of checking and checking the progress of projects according to a more correct solution, respectful of the competences of the various bodies defined by the Treaties". According to Italian sources, the call of the European Council on the 'Next generation Uè for today afternoon, after the nightly negotiation, is "a step forward". And also Sebastian Kurz, Austrian chancellor and one of the leaders of the frugal, wrote on Twitter that Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, a member of the "frugal", also wrote a tweet this morning that you can "be very satisfied with the result".