The European Union leaders agreed today, Thursday, to set up a trillion euro emergency fund to assist in the efforts to recover from the Corona virus pandemic, to avoid a new failure this time, but with the postponing of the controversial details to the summer..
With the European Union headquarters in Brussels closed – like most parts of the continent – the 27 leaders held a four-hour video conference to study the proposals, as they gathered behind a larger budget for the period from 2021 to 2027 including an economic recovery program.
The joint budget is equivalent to about one percent of the economic output of the European Union, which has long been one of the most contentious issues among members. It will not be easy to expand on it, even with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte praising what he said was a “great progress” after the summit ended..
French President Emmanuel Macron said that differences still existed between the governments of the Union regarding whether the fund would provide cash grants or only lend.
“The differences remain,” he told reporters in Paris. “
“I honestly say: If Europe takes a loan to lend to others, that will not rise to the level of response we need,” he said, adding that it would burden countries already in debt, such as Italy, Belgium and Greece..
Europe faces an acute economic shock from the spread of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the emerging Corona virus, which has led to border closures within the Union and Member States fighting medical supplies..
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told the leaders that the pandemic could cut the eurozone’s output between five and 15 percent, officials and diplomats said..
It is expected, according to a Reuters poll, that the euro zone economy will shrink 5.4% this year, which will be the worst economic performance since the currency was introduced in 1999. But it will be a better number than the latest forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, which indicates a decline of 7.5%.
– .
