EU leaders depart after first day of summit

European Union leaders held their first in person meeting since the start of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday as they attempt to reach a deal on an unprecedented 1.85 trillion euro (2.1 trillion US dollars) EU budget and virus recovery fund.

After two full sessions, the leaders briefly broke up ahead of dinner to allow summit host and European Council President Charles Michel to work with individual nations to narrow down their sizable differences over who should give and get the money, and under what conditions.

The challenges facing the 27 EU leaders are formidable.

The bloc is suffering the worst recession in its history and member states are fighting over who should pay the most to help other countries and which nations should get the most to turn around their battered economies.

What is slated as a two-day meeting could go even longer, if necessary, to bridge the differences between leaders.