EU agrees to historic 750 bn euros for coronavirus recovery fund after marathon summit

European Union agreed to a ‘historic’ 750 billion euros coronavirus recovery fund after a marathon four-day and four-night summit which witnessed fierce opposition and threats of a walkout. Announcing the budget for 2021-2027, EU Council said that 750 billion euros have been allocated to Next Generation EU (NGEU), of which 390 billion euros will be provided as grants and 360 billion euros as loans.

The amounts under NGEU for individual programmes include Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Horizon Europe, InvestEU, Rural Development, Just Transition Fund, ReactEU, and RescEU.  The highest amount has been allocated for RRF under which 360 billion euros will be given as loans and 312.5 euros as grants.

In the EU’s seven-year budget, 1074.3 billion euros have been allocated under the Multiannual financial framework (MFF). EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to Twitter to announce the “historic step” but cautioned that they still require the support of the European Parliament. 

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'Requires exceptional measure'

European Council said in a statement that the exceptional nature of the economic and social situation due to the COVID-19 crisis requires exceptional measures to support the economic recovery of the Member States. It knowledged that the member countries are slowly exiting the acute health crisis but the pandemic has posed a challenge of historic proportions.

The Council said that though utmost vigilance on the health situation is still required, the emphasis is now shifting to the mitigation of the socio-economic damage. It added that the mitigation efforts require an unprecedented and innovative approach to foster convergence, resilience and transformation in the European Union.

“On the basis of the extensive consultations held at the level of the President of the European Council and the work done in the Council, the conclusions present a balanced solution catering for the interests and positions of all Member States,” said the Council.

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(Image: AP)