FRANKFURT (Dow Jones) – EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has appealed to EU leaders to approve the Corona reconstruction plan in July. “It is important that we finish before the summer break,” said von der Leyen in an interview with the Handelsblatt. Whether the next EU summit on July 17 was enough, but was not sure.
“We have to see whether such an agreement will be successful on the first try,” said the head of the commission. Maybe a second summit would be necessary. “In any case, we have to work until the package is on the way.” Europe is in the deepest economic crisis since World War II and therefore urgently needs this economic stimulus package.
The EU Commission presented the reconstruction plan with a total volume of 750 billion euros at the end of May. Of this, 500 billion are to go as non-repayable donations, in particular to the EU countries that have been particularly hard hit by the corona crisis, and the remaining 250 billion euros as loans.
Von der Leyen defended the high proportion of grants in the program. The EU should not borrow more from its highly indebted member states and “cut off the air with ever higher interest burdens”. Von der Leyen assured that the subsidies should include reform requirements.
Von der Leyen described the EU Presidency, which started on July 1, as “great luck”. Chancellor Angela Merkel Have an “enormous European political experience” and enjoy the trust of all heads of government.
DJG / mpt
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 27, 2020 08:15 ET (12:15 GMT)
