The Franco-German couple will he emerge stronger from the coronavirus crisis? Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel will have a video conference this afternoon before holding a joint press conference from 5 p.m.
According to the Elysee Palace, the two countries will present a "Franco-German initiative" in the context of the coronavirus crisis.
This initiative should rake a wide field. According to Reuters, it should relate to health, economic recovery, ecological transition, digital or industrial sovereignty. The objective: the economic recovery of Europe to get out of the coronavirus crisis and avoid the announced recession.
In a telephone interview on May 8, the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the two leaders stressed the need "more imperative than ever" for European engagement.
A European plan that is struggling to see the light of day
The European Commission is due to present on May 27 in Brussels an instrument for economic recovery supported by a borrowing capacity of 1,000 billion euros.
This funding will be in addition to the 240 billion euros in loans from the European Stability Mechanism (MES, the euro zone relief fund), the 200 billion from the guarantee fund for businesses and the 100 billion from the instrument. SURE created to support partial unemployment.
Except that this plan is struggling to give birth. Despite the warnings of Christine Lagarde, the boss of the ECB against the risk of "acting too little, too late", it is far from achieving consensus and has shown a cleavage between the countries of the North and those of the South.
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Italy and Spain, which have suffered the most from the pandemic demanding more solidarity from the countries of the North. Angela Merkel has promised "in a spirit of solidarity", "much greater contributions" from her country to the EU budget over "a limited period". However, it refused any pooling of national debts, which has often been summed up by the term "coronabonds".
VIDEO. Emmanuel Macron: "Strengthening European economic sovereignty"
