The EU’s Executive Commission has proposed a major $825 billion recovery fund to tackle economic issues caused by COVID-19 lockdowns. The package will be made of up grants and loans for all EU member states. Economies across the EU have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the economic crisis must be addressed as a whole rather than by individual nation-states.
The plan has been named Next Generation EU, however, it requires the backing of all 27 member states to proceed. Germany and France have backed other plans for the money to be raised in the capital markets. Other states have objected to taking on the debt of harder-hit countries such as Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.
Read More: Coronavirus: Von der Leyen calls €750bn recovery fund ‘Europe’s moment’
