BRUSSELS, July 19 — An acrimonious EU summit headed into a third day today as leaders remained deadlocked over a huge post-coronavirus economic recovery plan, unable to overcome fierce resistance from the Netherlands and its “frugal” allies. European Council president Charles Michel was...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves after a meeting of an EU summit on a coronavirus recovery package at the European Council building in Brussels on July 18, 2020. — AFP pic
“We’re in a stalemate, it’s very complicated, more complicated than expected,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said after long hours of wrangling on day two of the summit in Brussels. But Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has insisted member states retain final approval of any funding — an effective veto — for recipients.
An official from a non-frugal state insisted that this does not amount to a right of veto, but admitted that it remains to be seen whether countries such as Spain and Italy will accept the compromise. Amid the furious negotiating, at one point, the leaders of some smaller countries — Belgium, Estonia, Luxembourg and Malta — left the venue to enjoy drinks and chips on a sunny square.
“The ratio of grants versus loans simply has to be different,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told reporters.
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