“We must act as Europeans so that the European Union emerges from this crisis strengthened. Paris and Berlin on Monday proposed a stimulus plan of 500 billion euros in the face of the economic impact of the Covid-19, which plunges the continent into a recession of historic magnitude.
"As this crisis is of an exceptional nature, let us take a path which is also exceptional": the German Chancellor officially gave her approval to a mutualisation of the debt, without "fair return". A giant step on the German side. "The two countries are positioning themselves in favor of European solidarity," said Angela Merkel, who risks attracting internal criticism after this press conference, which is also unusual.
Physical distance requires, the two heads of state expressed themselves side by side on the screen but a thousand kilometers from each other. Emmanuel Macron often looked in his direction ... Magic of technique.
The Commission to redistribute 500 billion euros
"To support a sustainable recovery that restores and strengthens growth in the EU, Germany and France are supporting the creation of an ambitious, temporary and targeted stimulus fund" as part of the next EU budget with "500 billion euros," said a joint statement.
Both Paris and Berlin propose that the European Commission finance this stimulus support by borrowing from the markets "on behalf of the EU". This money will then be transferred as "budgetary expenditure" to European countries and "to the sectors and regions most affected", underlines the declaration.
New element of solidarity, "the countries benefiting from the recovery plan will not have to repay the aid," said the French president. Ecological and digital transition will be encouraged.
A coordinated and autonomous Health Europe
The two heads of state also called for a Europe of sovereign health. “Our aim is to provide Europe with very concrete skills in the area of health. With common stocks of masks and tests, joint and coordinated purchasing capacities for treatments and vaccines, shared prevention plans for epidemics, common methods for identifying cases. This Europe of health never existed, it must become our priority ”, launched the French president.
The pandemic has exposed the dependence of the Old Continent for current products such as paracetamol, the last European paracetamol factory closed in 2008 in Roussillon, in Isère. A controversy had been caused by the announcement by the pharmaceutical group Sanofi that it would serve the United States as a priority if it found a vaccine against Covid-19.
Convince other member states
Despite these calls for European concord, Emmanuel Macron did not hesitate Monday to target the authoritarian regimes within the EU which "reduce" the rule of law as part of measures to fight the pandemic. "Thereupon we will have no indulgence and no softness," he said.
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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, "welcomed the constructive proposal from France and Germany" to revive the European economy after the coronavirus. She herself must present on May 27 her own plan for the economic recovery of the continent. The Franco-German duo has yet to convince 25 other member states to follow them, notably the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands.
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