EU leaders finally agree on post-coronavirus recovery plan

European Union (EU) leaders have reached an agreement on a massive post-coronavirus recovery plan after almost five days of tough talks.

“Deal,” President of the European Council Charles Michel, who hosted the EU summit on the plan, said in a tweet on Tuesday, shortly after the 27 leaders reached the agreement at a pre-dawn plenary session in Brussels, Belgium.

The agreement puts an end to bitter discussions between the so-called “frugal five” countries — Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands — and France and Germany during the summit, which was the bloc’s longest in two decades.

In its negotiated final form, the 750-billion-euro recovery fund includes 390 billion euros’ worth of grants and 360 billion euros’ worth of loans to the most severely-hit economies. It was reached after Michel presented compromises, taking the non-repayable grants down from 500 billion.

EU leaders had been divided on how to help the bloc’s member states the worst hit by the outbreak, including Italy and Spain. Some leaders had argued that the grants were too big.

“This agreement sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action,” Michel said at a dawn press conference.

“It is about a lot more than money. It is about workers and families, their jobs, their health, and their well-being. I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe’s journey, but it will also launch us into the future,” he said.

Heated EU talks on virus aid fund enter 4th day amid impasse

European Union talks aimed at striking a deal a coronavirus aid plan enter a fourth day amid differences on how to repair Europe’s post-pandemic economy.

The bloc’s next seven-year budget of around 1.1 trillion euros was also agreed on during the summit.

French, German leaders praise deal

It was a “historic day for Europe,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet.

He said the agreement was a cause for celebration because it showed how far European states had converged.

“I think we can legitimately rejoice,” the French president said at a press conference in Brussels.

Speaking at the same news conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel also hailed the deal as “an important signal beyond Europe’s borders,” saying it showed that the EU “is able to take action” even with all the EU member states’ varying backgrounds.

The “frugal” states also welcomed the deal, with Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz saying that the final package was a “good result for the EU.”

The deal now needs to win approval from the European Parliament, which will shortly convene a special plenary session.

EU countries have seen their economies take a plunge as a result of the lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. Spain and Italy have been hit the hardest.

Earlier this month, the European Commission said Europe’s economy would contract more sharply this year and take longer to recover from the coronavirus pandemic than previously expected.

According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, some 2,690,717 cases have been reported in Europe as of Monday. The EU health body also says that 199,876 coronavirus-related deaths have been registered by member states.

Europe was the epicenter of the pandemic before the United States took that position.

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