EU summit fails to reach any agreement on Covid recovery fund

The 27 leaders consulted all night to find common ground and reach an agreement on a plan to recover European economies from the coronavirus pandemic, and at 7 a.m. the representative of the President of the European Council announced the end of the Plenary Session. informing first that it will continue at 3 in the afternoon and then correcting that it will finally continue at 5 p.m.

The amount of grants is a big thorn - New proposal for grants worth 390 billion?
The Summit is evolving into a thriller for strong stomachs, with the leaders continuing the difficult negotiations overnight.

On the table are the package 1.8 trillion. for the multiannual EU fiscal framework and the € 750 billion Recovery Fund (€ 500 billion in grants, € 250 billion in loans). The 750 billion will be raised, on behalf of all member states, by the European Commission on capital markets. It will be a historic step towards closer integration. Then, the amount is expected to be allocated mainly to the countries of the European South (Italy, Spain, etc.) that suffered the heaviest blows from the pandemic.

A group of "frugal" Northern European countries have been pushing throughout the Summit for the amount to be allocated in the form of donations or grants to be smaller and more of the fund's capital to be allocated in the form of loans.

The tense talks, which date back to the Nice Summit (France) 20 years ago, highlight the gap between the North and South in Europe.

An attempt to find a compromise failed yesterday. The proposal to allocate 400 billion euros as donations, aid and grants (from 500 billion provided for in the original proposal) was rejected by the "sparing" bloc of the North, which wants the amount to be reduced to 350 billion.

According to FT and AFP correspondents, there is a new proposal on the negotiating table for 390 billion euros in grants.

According to an official, during the discussions of the third day "there was arm wrestling on whether the amount of grants should fall below 400 billion or not". At the same time, he noted that the issue of linking funding with the observance of the principles of the rule of law is "collapsing", with the Wiesengrad countries reacting.

The group of "frugal" countries also proposed to reduce the Recovery Fund to 700 billion (from 750 billion euros which is the proposal of the Commission).

Earlier, diplomatic sources said that the two "blocs", those of the South and the "frugal" countries, could compromise on the idea of ​​giving grants of 375 billion euros (instead of 500 billion) and the remaining 375 billion in loans. but, as Politico reports, this is strongly opposed by Emanuel Macron.

According to two diplomatic sources, the French president does not agree with the idea, as the countries of the South want the European Council proposal for 500 billion in grants and 250 billion in loans. Macron had previously stressed at the summit that he insisted grants should not fall below 400 billion euros in the worst case scenario.