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Bloomberg
European Union efforts to agree on a 750 billion-euro ($856 billion) stimulus package ran into trouble as leaders were unable to reconcile differences over how much of the recovery fund should be distributed through grants versus low-interest loans.
European Council President Charles Michel floated a new proposal that would reduce the size of handouts to 400 billion euros, down from an original 500 billion euros, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
Dutch PM Mark Rutte and his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz rejected the new offer, and stood by a pledge to limit grants to 350 billion euros.
Denmark, Sweden and Finland, which initially had been aligned with the Dutch and Austrians, weren’t as opposed to the amount of grants in Michel’s latest proposal, said the officials, who asked not to be identified because the talks are ongoing.
Germany and France, with the backing of most of the bloc, are insistent that at least 400 billion euros of the package must be handouts in order to shield the fragile economies of southern Europe from the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Europe is being blackmailed,†Italian PM Giuseppe Conte said as frustration with the Dutch-led group began to mount.