Previously, the EU offered to provide non-EU countries 500 billion euros in grants and grants and 250 billion euros in the form of loans, but this decision, observers noted, was “adjusted”. After four days of fierce debate, the heads of state finally came to a consensus, reports the Guardian. In the morning on 21 July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter that it was “time to move forward”, giving to understand that the adoption agreement is inevitable. It was the longest summit of EU leaders over the past two decades, during which the participants in a very sharp tone criticized their opponents. The summit in nice, 20 years ago, during which European leaders discussed the EU enlargement, lasted five days.
the European Union is struggling with the most powerful after the Second world war the economic downturn on the continent of the pandemic and the most affected by the coronavirus in the country, such as Italy and Spain, urgently need large-scale economic aid to the hundreds of billions of euros. However, within three days at the summit in Brussels the agreement could not be reached due to deep differences among its members, says CNN. The parties disagreed on the total size of the recovery Fund, how much assistance should be provided in the form of grants or loans, and the conditions that must be met by countries receiving funds from the EU.
the President of France Emmanuel macron in the night on Tuesday announced that the sides had found “the spirit of compromise”, despite the fact that earlier in the day compared individual negotiators with “the ill-fated British”. Towards evening a high-ranking EU diplomats are talking about the upcoming breakthrough in the negotiations that followed the new proposal of the temporary President of the European Council, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. He suggested that the EU paid 390 (instead of 500) billion euros in the form of repayable grants to the most affected countries, and 360 (not 250) billion euros – in the form of loans.
earlier, the so-called “modest” state of the North of Europe (Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Austria), supported by Finland, stubbornly insisted that the original proposal of the European Commission on the allocation of grants to the affected countries has decreased from 500 to 350 billion euros. This position is noticeably upset of Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Actually, observers noted, the rich countries of the North, in contrast to the “asylum” from the South, mainly Italy, Spain, Greece, after all, insisted that Brussels has reduced the amount of subsidies and provided with more funds in the form of repayable loans, and loans at interest. Italian and Spanish reprthe representatives were accused of intentionally delaying the negotiations, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte, calling him “Mr. No.” The Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte said that Rutte guilty in the absence of rapid reaction of the European Union on a deep recession. And, the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban called his Dutch colleague, “the guy who brought chaos to a meeting.”
in Addition to the debate about the size of the recovery Fund for the countries most affected by the pandemic coronavirus, the summit has caused sharp discussions the problem of the seven-year EU budget, starting in 2021. Charles Michel proposed to spend 1,074 trillion euros on EU programmes for the next seven years, which “humble country” also want to reduce and align with the adoption of targets for carbon emissions. On the map, analysts, delivered the promised “climate recovery” in the EU, which will help countries to achieve “zero emissions” of carbon by 2050. The compromise proposed at the summit on Monday, has weakened the requirement to link the disbursement of funds to Fund the restoration of economies signing up to 2050 climate goal of complete reduction of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
