EU grapples with 'mission impossible' at deadlocked recovery summit
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2022
SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
EU grapples with 'mission impossible' at deadlocked recovery summit

Global Economy

Reuters
19 July, 2020, 08:20 pm
Last modified: 20 July, 2020, 12:03 pm

Related News

  • No easy approval of EU stimulus deal, says parliament head
  • EU leaders reach deal on coronavirus recovery
  • EU leaders in 'home stretch' to recovery deal after days of squabbling
  • EU progress and vaccine hopes keep pressure on dollar
  • EU Council head Michel says agreement on recovery fund is possible

EU grapples with 'mission impossible' at deadlocked recovery summit

Diplomats said it was possible that they would abandon the summit and try again for an agreement next month

Reuters
19 July, 2020, 08:20 pm
Last modified: 20 July, 2020, 12:03 pm
President of the European Council Charles Michel (L), Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (C), France's President Emmanuel Macron (2nd R) and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen pose during a meeting at the first face-to-face EU summit since the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium July 19, 2020. Francois Walschaerts/Pool via REUTERS
President of the European Council Charles Michel (L), Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (C), France's President Emmanuel Macron (2nd R) and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen pose during a meeting at the first face-to-face EU summit since the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium July 19, 2020. Francois Walschaerts/Pool via REUTERS

EU leaders stood at an impasse on Sunday after three days of haggling over a plan to revive economies throttled by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the chairman of their near-record-length summit urged them to make one last push on "mission impossible".

Charles Michel reminded the 27 leaders of the European Union over dinner in Brussels that more than 600,000 people had now died as a result of the coronavirus around the world, and said it was up to them to stand together in the face of an unprecedented crisis.

"My hope is that we reach an agreement and that the headline ... tomorrow is that the EU has accomplished mission impossible," he said. "That is my heartfelt wish ... after three days of non-stop work."

The leaders are at odds over how to carve up a vast recovery fund designed to help haul Europe out of its deepest recession since World War Two, and what strings to attach for countries it would benefit.

Diplomats said it was possible that they would abandon the summit and try again for an agreement next month.

On the table is a 1.8-trillion-euro ($2.06-trillion) package for the EU's next long-term budget and recovery fund.

The 750 billion euros proposed for the recovery fund would be raised on behalf of them all on capital markets by the EU's executive European Commission, which would be a historic step towards greater integration, and then funnelled mostly to hard-hit Mediterranean rim countries.

Better Ambitious Than Hurried

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said it would be better for the leaders to agree an "ambitious" aid package than to have a quick deal at any cost.

"Ideally, the leaders' agreement should be ambitious in terms of size and composition of the package ... even if it takes a bit more time," she told Reuters.

Lagarde's comments suggested she was relaxed about the possibility of an adverse reaction on financial markets if the summit fails, especially as the ECB has a 1 trillion euro-plus war chest to buy up government debt.

A group of "frugal" wealthy north European states pushed during the summit for a smaller recovery fund and sought to limit how payouts are split between grants and repayable loans.

The tense talks, though still shorter that an EU summit in the French city of Nice 20 years ago, underscored the gulf between the EU's north and south.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte accused the Netherlands and its allies — Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Finland — of "blackmail".

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's position reflects political realities in his country, where voters resent that the Netherlands is, proportionately, among the largest net contributors to the EU budget.

He and his conservative VVD party face a strong challenge from far-right eurosceptic parties in elections next March.

On Sunday evening, another attempt at reaching a compromise failed. A deal envisaging 400 billion euros in grants - down from a proposed 500 billion euros - was rejected by the north, which said it saw 350 billion euros as the maximum.

There were also differences over a proposed new rule-of-law mechanism that could freeze funding to countries flouting democratic principles. Hungary, backed by Poland, threatened to veto the package if its disbursement was made dependent on meeting conditions on upholding the rule of law.

For some, the summit was a critical moment for nearly 70 years of European integration, and failure to agree could unnerve financial markets and fuel doubts about the bloc's viability.

($1 = 0.8752 euros)

 

Top News / World+Biz

EU Covid-19 Recovery Fund

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • VAT on sales of locally-produced APIs likely to go from FY23
    VAT on sales of locally-produced APIs likely to go from FY23
  • Project delays: The Sinohydro case
    Project delays: The Sinohydro case
  • An image created during an investigation into an outbreak of monkeypox, which took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 1996 to 1997, shows the hands of a patient with a rash due to monkeypox.(REUTERS)
    WHO expects more cases of monkeypox to emerge globally

MOST VIEWED

  • U.S. President Biden speaks to reporters while departing at Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Al Drago
    Biden to launch economic plan for Indo-Pacific region
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong stand next to US President Joe Biden during a visit to a semiconductor factory at the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    First stop Samsung: Biden touts South Korean role in securing global supply chains
  • FILE PHOTO: A shop sign of Hyundai is seen outside a car showroom in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Britain, May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers/File Photo/REUTERS
    Hyundai Motor Group to invest more than $10 billion in US up to 2025
  • An employee checks freshly roasted coffee beans during cooling down in a tumbler at H. Schwarzenbach coffee roastery in Zurich, Switzerland December 4, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
    Coffee demand up but not yet percolating at pre-pandemic levels
  • HSBC CEO Noel Quinn attends the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
    HSBC banker's remarks on climate risk inconsistent with strategy, CEO says
  • A man wears a protective mask as he walks on Wall Street during the coronavirus outbreak in New York City, New York, U.S., March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/Files
    Wall Street ends mixed after punishing week

Related News

  • No easy approval of EU stimulus deal, says parliament head
  • EU leaders reach deal on coronavirus recovery
  • EU leaders in 'home stretch' to recovery deal after days of squabbling
  • EU progress and vaccine hopes keep pressure on dollar
  • EU Council head Michel says agreement on recovery fund is possible

Features

Illustration: TBS

How the ban on porn sites spawned a local cybersex industry

1h | Panorama
3 best affordable sunscreens for all

3 best affordable sunscreens for all

1h | Mode
Warah uses three types of khadi material: a sheer and light one, a medium count and a thicker one.

Warah: Embroidered with culture and womanhood

3h | Mode
Photo: Courtesy

Misfit Technologies: A Singaporean startup rooted firmly in Bangladesh

3h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

CV or Resume: Which one to create for job application

CV or Resume: Which one to create for job application

2h | Videos
Wheat prices double in India

Wheat prices double in India

16h | Videos
Is Washington-Moscow agreement possible?

Is Washington-Moscow agreement possible?

17h | Videos
Pigeon exhibition for the first time in Gazipur

Pigeon exhibition for the first time in Gazipur

21h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter
Industry

The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter

4
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

5
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

6
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab