The state corona aid is already expensive for Germany’s taxpayers. Nevertheless, Chancellor Merkel also wants to grant generous sums to other EU countries. Austria’s Chancellor Kurz means: only as a loan and only for a limited time. An approach is not in sight.
Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz rejects the Corona aid favored by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the form of non-repayable transfers to EU countries. “We want to avoid entering into a permanent debt union and therefore advocate a clear time limit for emergency aid and for loans instead of grants,” Kurz wrote in an article for the magazine “Focus”. The heads of government “have a great responsibility towards our taxpayers, who are already burdened by the severe recession in our own countries”.
According to Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, a 500 billion construction fund is to be created from which the grants will be paid. The funds are to benefit the countries particularly affected by the pandemic. In addition to Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden also reject this.
Merkel: Germany shouldn’t just think of itself
Merkel also asked the opponents of the planned EU development fund to give in via an interview. “The funds from the fund serve to help us to show solidarity and to see that the countries are affected to varying degrees by the pandemic,” said Merkel of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and other European media.
For countries with very high total indebtedness, grants make more sense than loans, said Merkel. “I work to convince the countries that have so far approved loans but refused grants,” said Merkel, among other things, to the Austrian Chancellor.
All EU governments should “put themselves in the other’s situation and look at the problems from their perspective,” said Merkel. The pandemic is a huge burden for Italy or Spain, for example. It is imperative that Germany not only think of itself, but is ready for an “extraordinary act of solidarity”. Merkel emphasized the uniqueness of the aid, for which the EU Commission is to borrow large amounts for the first time. “For me, the fund is a special answer to a special situation,” she emphasized.
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