In order not to further damage the image of the European Union, there should be no tensions or quarrels. And there was none during the videoconference in which the Twenty-Seven participated on Thursday afternoon. This did not fail to congratulate the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who keeps a bitter taste of the meeting of March 26 during which the settling of scores between leaders had multiplied.
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Unsurprisingly, the Twenty-Seven gave the green light Thursday to the package of 540 billion euros of immediate measures hard negotiated in recent weeks by the finance ministers. The same goes for the roadmap devoted to the deconfinement strategy of the Member States prepared by the Commission. But it is above all on the European recovery plan that the heads of state and government were expected. And, proof that the need to create such an instrument did indeed infuse, they instructed the Commission to make a proposal to them. " It was clear to everyone that we needed such a stimulus fund ," admitted Chancellor Angela Merkel after the videoconference. There is now a " consensus on the need for a quick and strong response"Said Emmanuel Macron. " There is a consensus on the need for a rapid and strong response ," also said the Italian Giuseppe Conte.
Increase firepower
No doubt we must see in this consensus the consequence of " a real sense of urgency " felt in both by Charles Michel. During the meeting, Christine Lagarde, the President of the ECB, raised the risk of dropping out, which could represent up to 15 points of GDP at the end of the crisis. The ball is now in the court of Ursula von der Leyen who promised to make a proposal in " the second or third week of May ".
The European executive will have to define the amount of this recovery plan, the priority sectors and the mechanisms. For Ursula von der Leyen, this recovery plan will have to be nested in the European budget, which will have to " increase the firepower ".
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" Our current estimates of needs lead us to believe that an own resources ceiling of around 2% of gross national income for two or three years instead of 1.2% will be necessary, " said the President of the Commission after the meeting, saying that it was not a question of this plan of " billions " but indeed of " thousands of billions" If the leaders have agreed on the principle of a recovery plan, there is still a long way to reach a compromise on its terms. Because the meeting also showed that important differences remain between the Member States. " Today there are disagreements that remain on the mechanisms (...) and on the nature of the transfers that will be made ", regretted Emmanuel Macron, calling for " a united, organized and strong response ".
The countries of the North are indeed opposed to the idea of granting subsidies - and not loans - to the countries most affected by the coronavirus crisis from a health and economic point of view, that are Italy, the 'Spain but also France. For these countries, it can only be a question of loans.
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“ Austria is also ready to show solidarity for the revival of our economies. We have to do it through loans. Debt pooling is not acceptable, ”tweeted Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz after the meeting. Even if Germany claims to want to put more money in the European budget to help the economics of the bloc to revive, there is also no question of considering shared debts. Ursula von der Leyen, who has promised to exchange regularly with the Member States before presenting her proposal, will therefore have to deal with these headwinds. Thursday evening, at the end of the videoconference, the President of the Commission opened the door to a mixed solution, mixing loans and grants.