English Section

EU leaders try to hammer out long-term budget and stimulus plan

17.07.2020 07:05
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has flown to Brussels for a two-day summit in which EU leaders will try to hammer out the bloc’s long term budget and its COVID-19 recovery fund.
Audio
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Radek Pietruszka

The summit starts on Friday, with no guarantee that European Union member states pressing their national interests will be able to reach a compromise.

European Council President Charles Michel has proposed an EU budget of EUR 1.074 trillion for 2021-2027.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s executive in May unveiled a EUR 750 billion proposal to prop up economies battered by the coronavirus and help the bloc out of its worst economic crisis since World War II.

Polish media reported at the time that Poland stood to receive more than EUR 63 billion from EU coffers in grants and loans under the recovery plan.

The new recovery fund, dubbed "Next Generation EU," would include EUR 500 billion in grants and EUR 250 billion in loans for member states.

In an op-ed piece published by the euractiv.com website last month, Poland’s Morawiecki called for "an ambitious and decisive response" to the economic fallout from the pandemic, while also saying that the coronavirus crisis should "provide a lever for development” in Europe.

Morawiecki in April called for a “new Marshall Plan” for Europe to aid the continent’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

(pk)

Click on the 'Play' button above for an audio report