The 27 leaders of the European Union have struck a deal on a historic multi-billion-euro economic recovery package to curb the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, after four draining days of negotiations at a Brussels summit.
Consisting of a 750-billion-euro ($855 billion) stimulus spending pot and a regular seven-year EU budget worth 1.074 trillion euros, starting from 2021, it is the largest such combined package ever agreed in the EU.
It will also see the European Commission raise debt on a large scale on behalf of member states for the first time.
“We did it,’’ European Council President, Charles Michel, said early Tuesday morning, hailing the agreement as a historic moment, NAN reports.
“These agreements are a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action.’’
Also reacting, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “As exhausted as we all are here, we know that this is a historic moment for Europe.”
Recall that the marathon EU summit, which narrowly missed breaking the record for the longest ever held, was defined largely by disagreement between a group known as the frugal four – Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark – and states pushing for a higher proportion of grants.
