In order to economically rebuild EU countries after the Corona crisis, the EU Commission is proposing a generous aid package that exceeds Merkel and Macron's billion dollar plan. However, funding is still unclear.
- Corona is hard on the EU - it is still unclear how well the Union will get through the crisis, economically and as a political community.
- Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron presented a joint relief plan in mid-May. There is a contradiction to this.
- Now the planned aid program of the EU Commission has become known - and has a gigantic scope (see update from May 27th, 12:21 pm).
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus and the corona news from Germany. We also offer you the current number of cases in Germany * on a map. The following recommendations for corona protection measures are currently available.
Update from May 29, 6.40 p.m . : Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz insists that the EU Corona aid be limited in time . His country would only agree to a reconstruction plan if it was temporary and intended as a one-off emergency aid, the conservative politician told Der Spiegel magazine .
Austria will oppose all attempts to achieve a “complete communitarization” of debts. Kurz added: "Incidentally, we only represent what was also the German position a few weeks ago ."
Update of May 27, 8:35 p.m .: EU budget commissioner Johannes Hahn does not expect any problems in the financial markets when borrowing the 750 billion euro Corona aid fund . The EU is "a very attractive borrower," said Hahn in Brussels. However, it is "a political and logistical challenge" to get ratification in the member states by the end of the year. "We need all 27 Member States on board."
EU mega-financial injection over Corona: how is the financing going?
The recovery plan is designed to help Member States quickly overcome the worst recession in EU history. The support, particularly of financially weaker countries, is also intended to prevent the Union from drifting apart economically. Hahn pointed out that it is not necessary to borrow all of the money at once to finance the capital markets . "We will not create market distortion," he said. The amounts could be gradually raised in the Member States as needed and would also be paid out in several tranches over longer periods.
For the repayment of the EU loans between 2028 and 2058, Hahn campaigned for the proposal of new EU taxes and duties. An expansion of emissions trading and a tax on large companies could each bring in ten billion euros a year, a tax on goods from third countries with low environmental standards up to 14 billion euros a year and a digital tax of 1.4 billion euros a year.
"If all of this is added up, we can use it to repay the loans taken out on the market for over 30 years," said the Austrian. This is in the interest of the member states. Otherwise, the only alternative would be to increase the national contributions to the EU budget. "The Member States have a choice."
Corona: EU Commission proposes gigantic aid program - 750 billion euros
Update of May 27, 4:04 pm: French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's plans for the European reconstruction plan and called for swift action. Macron spoke on Wednesday of an "essential day for Europe". “The Franco-German agreement made this progress possible. We have to act quickly and adopt an ambitious agreement with all of our European partners, ”Macron added.
Jour essentiel pour l'Europe: @vonderleyen propose un plan de relance inédit de 750 Md € pour les régions et secteurs en difficulté. L'accord franco-allemand a permis cette avancée. Nous devons of all vite et adopter un accord ambitieux avec tous nos partenaires européens.
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 27, 2020Update of May 27, 2:38 p.m .: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen officially presented her planned reconstruction program in a speech in the European Parliament on Wednesday afternoon and defended it as a pact of the generations . The corona crisis today requires investment on an unprecedented scale. "But we have to do it in such a way that the next generation will benefit from it tomorrow," she emphasized. Von der Leyen spoke in this context of a "decisive moment" for her generation . The EU Commission President further said that the crisis we now have to deal with is huge. "But the chance for Europe and our responsibility to do the right thing in this situation is just as great ."
The 750 billion reconstruction program is said to consist of loans and non-repayable grants, and is to be financed through debt on behalf of the European Union, which will have to be paid through the EU budget by 2058 . To pay off the debt, the EU Commission is proposing a number of new EU taxes. In doing so, she mentions income from emissions trading, a CO2 limit tax for the import of goods from third countries with lower environmental standards and income based on the business of large companies. "This could also include a digital tax," it says.
EU Commission plans billion-euro program - Italy and Spain should benefit greatly
Update of May 27, 1:11 p.m .: As has now become known, the countries particularly hard hit by the Corona crisis are to receive the majority of the reconstruction aid proposed by the EU Commission from Italy and Spain . According to information from the AFP news agency, Italy has earmarked almost EUR 173 billion of the total of EUR 750 billion . Spain could get a good 140 billion euros . Almost 29 billion euros are reserved for Germany .
The shares reserved for the individual countries depend on the extent of the economic crisis. Italy and Spain were the worst hit countries by the pandemic. The EU Commission's plan also provides for around 39 billion euros for France, which is also heavily burdened .
Update of May 27, 12:25: The European Commission will, according to information provided by the German Press Agency total of 750 billion euros for economic recovery in Europe mobilize after the corona crisis. The dpa also learned from circles in Brussels that 500 billion euros of this should flow as non-repayable grants and 250 billion euros as loans.
The EU's 750 billion program consists of grants and loans
To this end, loans on the capital market should be taken out on bonds on behalf of the European Union and repaid together over decades . The program drawn up by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is thus far more extensive than a Franco-German initiative proposal for a 500 billion euro package . Von der Leyen also wants to propose a regular financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 amounting to around one trillion euros. The Commission President wants to officially present the plan in a speech in the European Parliament in the afternoon.
The EU countries had already set up a common security network with loan assistance of up to 540 billion euros weeks earlier . Now the current budget recovery program is the next step. New in this: the funds financed by loans are mainly to be given to the EU countries as donations, which are paid back not by the recipients but by everyone.
500 billion plan from Merkel and Macron: Eurogroup boss speaks out
Update of May 24, 10:40 am: While four European countries made a counter-proposal to the Franco-German aid package, the Eurogroup leader Mário Centeno praised the suggestion from Merkel and Macron . He described the 500 billion euro European reconstruction fund standing in the room as " good news for Europe ".
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen justified the planned reconstruction program as a pact of the generations.
© AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
The Portuguese finance minister said in an interview to the world on Sunday that the initiative by Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron was "a bold step in the right direction to overcome this crisis". This initiative could shape the euro zone in the long term. "We'll see how it works," said Centeno. "The Franco-German proposal would be a big step towards a fiscal union and a really functioning monetary union, even if the reconstruction fund is only limited in time."
The Eurogroup Chairman now called on European governments to quickly agree on key elements of the recovery plan. "It would be good if we could agree on the fundamentals of the reconstruction fund before summer, " he emphasized.
Corona crisis: Four EU countries submit counter-proposal to the Merkel / Macron plan
Update of May 23, 11:05 a.m .: Austria, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands have submitted a counter-proposal to the Franco-German proposal for a corona reconstruction plan. The four countries are in favor of a unique emergency fund to strengthen the EU economy.
A limitation of these emergency aid to two years is particularly important , it said on Saturday from the Austrian Chancellery. In the counter-proposal, the four states make it clear that they will not agree to a communitization of debt and an increase in the EU budget .
Corona crisis: Söder considers 500 billion aid program to be justifiable
Update of May 21, 6:03 pm : CSU boss Markus Söder considers the 500 billion aid program proposed by Germany and France to alleviate financial bottlenecks caused by the corona crisis in the EU to be justifiable . “It's a big challenge. But for us as an export nation it is clear that our economy will only work if Europe as a whole works again, ”said the Bavarian Prime Minister to “ Münchner Merkur ”(Friday).
It is therefore good that the two countries have agreed on a common position. “Of course, with this program you have respect first because the amount is so high. But it is better than corona bonds . We therefore consider it justifiable to keep Europe together. "
500 billion: Merz warns of the "Merkel-Macron-Plan" and makes demands
Update of May 21, 3:09 pm : The Merkel-Macron plan for EU corona aid of over 500 billion euros heats the mind. Resistance has arisen, for example, in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden: these countries want to present an alternative to the Franco-German EU aid plan in the Corona crisis . Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) told the newspaper Welt , however, that he was "very optimistic that we will reach an agreement".
A recent Reuters interview with ex-union parliamentary leader Friedrich Merz , however, receives more attention than this statement . In his opinion, the EU is walking on a "very fine line." The candidate for the CDU chairmanship * warned of a transfer union .
Merz * praised the joint initiative. Nevertheless, it must be checked whether the bonds of the EU Commission are compatible with EU law: "The devil is in the details here too," warned Merz. One is currently encountering “the limits of the treaties” in the EU.
Merz also spoke of a “fundamental conflict” between southern and northern EU states. In his opinion, the former believe that the problem can be solved with more money, the latter would rather think about the competitiveness of companies. If so much money is to be spent now, Merz demanded that it be clarified beforehand what it should be used for.
Drastic decision - With Thuringia, the first federal state wants to end the measures - the new alarm system should apply from June
"Tactical Master" Merkel? 500 billion plan makes waves - but Kurz is already planning a counterattack
First report from May 20: Berlin / Paris - Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) was long regarded as a notorious EU procrastinator: French President Emmanuel Macron puts pressure on cooperation, Germany slows down - this is how the picture presented itself to many observers That changed on Monday, the joint € 500 billion relief plan. But the future of the Franco-German program is more than uncertain.
Resistance is forming in other EU countries : Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP), for example, announced an alternative to the Franco-German plan . A counter-proposal was in coordination with the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden .
Corona virus and the consequences: Merkel-Macron program makes CSU skeptical
But there are still major reservations in Germany. Even in the government parties. The CSU has so far been reluctant: The European policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Florian Hahn (CSU), told the editorial network in Germany that the expansion of the EU budget should not be established as a regular source of funding. "There should be no precedent," said Hahn. "This can only be a one-time solution."
In addition, legal issues still need to be clarified. The Bundestag, which would have to agree to an expansion of the budget, will examine the proposal closely, Hahn said. The Merkel and Macron initiative, however, has a structural advantage: "The positive thing is that there should be no Eurobonds *, so no debt pooling." The strictly conservative " Union of Values " is also resisting.
The opposition was divided. "The European treaties forbid the EU to go into debt for a good reason," FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told AFP. The "Merkel-Macron-Plan" opens "Pandora's box for even more debt". Greens boss Robert Habeck welcomed the plans in the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung as "long-awaited signal from Germany" and "brave, correct and very good ".
Not just encouragement: Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have presented a billion-dollar plan for the EU's way out of the corona crisis.
© AFP / KAY NIETFELD
Merkel and Macron draw up Corona plan: Italian newspaper praises Chancellor as "tactical master"
The press abroad often responded positively to Monday's announcement. The Italian Corriere della Sera even spoke of a “revolutionary step” and did not save with praise: “Once again, Merkel, who barely a month ago was still against the idea of joint indebtedness, appears as a tactical master when she uses the moment and sets the decisive course. ”In Italy, which was badly hit by the crisis, German attitudes towards corona policy had met with horror and serious reproaches.
The Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace from Strasbourg were also pleased. “The fact that this initiative is finally taking shape and being discussed at the highest political level is already a major breakthrough. It is the symbol that a taboo has been broken ”- Solidarity is no longer just an“ empty concept ”.
The conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung won the Merkels and Macrons plan positive in its comment: Regardless of the stance on the specific plan, the initiative “brought new momentum” into the debate. However, there are still major hurdles. "The Dutch, Danes and Swedes are currently forming a closed front against rejection of community debt."
Corona virus in the EU: Merkel and Macron plan this - next economic talks on Wednesday
The Merkel and Macron plan is intended to allow the EU Commission to borrow money on behalf of the EU in the financial markets in order to fill a reconstruction fund with a volume of EUR 500 billion. The money will then flow as non-repayable grants from the EU budget to the EU countries most affected by the Corona crisis, including Italy. An aid package had already been approved in April after a long dispute.
By the way, Angela Merkel will once again deal with the topic of international business on Wednesday: The Chancellor will speak to the chairs of five international business and financial organizations on Wednesday.
In a video conference, Merkel consults with the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Labor Organization. A press conference is planned afterwards.
Meanwhile, the EU Commission has described the economic consequences of the corona crisis in drastic terms - there was talk of an asteroid impact. German crisis policy received praise.
Virologist Hendrik Streeck does not expect a second wave of infection, but also sees no reason for the all-clear.
Markus Söder is asked about the end of the mask requirement - his answer is extremely negative.
A new study concludes that the corona hotspot Ischgl has a major impact on virus spread in Germany.
AFP / dpa / fn
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
List of rubric lists: © AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD