"Siamo con voi!" On a full page, the German tabloid Bild proclaims its solidarity with the Italian people. After a week of exchanging bird names, would Europeans be in the mood for compromise? Two days earlier, it was Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra who regretted his own 'lack of empathy' for Italy when he last week called on the European Commission to investigate the absence of budgetary margins in southern countries hit hard by the coronavirus. An attitude accused of “repugnant” and “mean” by the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa. The tension had even brought out Jacques Delors, 94, a statue of the Commander of European construction, from his retirement to warn of a "mortal danger" for the Union.
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Failing to reach an agreement at a video summit eight days ago, the 27 heads of state and government had instructed their finance ministers to bring solutions by here
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