EU leaders fret over virus deadlock
27-state union split over rescue package
BRUSSELS: Divided EU leaders were set to meet again yesterday to try to agree the terms of a huge coronavirus economic rescue package after a night of tense haggling failed to yield a breakthrough.
After three days and three nights of talks, the 27 states still could not settle on the exact size and rules of a 750-billion-euro (27.3 trillion baht) bundle of loans and grants to help drag Europe out of a recession caused by the pandemic.
The leaders gathered briefly yesterday morning after spending the night negotiating in smaller groups, only to adjourn until later in the day.
Over a working dinner on Sunday night, summit host and EU Council President Charles Michel made a fresh effort to win over the coalition of “Frugals” — the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Finland — which has sought to cut the size of the package and impose strict rules on how it is used.
As fears grew that the summit would collapse without an agreement, Mr Michel suggested cutting the grant portion of the deal to 400 billion euros, down from his initial proposal of 500 billion, and raising the loan part to 350 billion, up from 250 billion.
This was still not enough, however, for the Frugals, who insisted grants be cut to 350 billion and demanded big rises in the rebates they get on their EU contributions.
Tempers flared as frustration boiled over after a full weekend of haggling, with French President Emmanuel Macron upbraiding the Dutch and Austrian leaders for their intransigence and threatening a walkout.
The French leader banged the table and accused Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of behaving like former British premier David Cameron, who took a hard line at EU summits but ended up leading his country into a referendum to quit the bloc, and losing his job.
Mr Macron, who was pushing for grants to stay at 400 billion, said he would rather walk away than make a bad deal.
In a bid to break the deadlock, Mr Michel came up with a new proposal yesterday morning described by an official as “a plan with 390 billion in grants but smaller rebates for the Frugals”.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz voiced his approval. “Tough negotiations have just come to an end. We can be satisfied with today’s result,” he wrote.
Round after round of small group meetings went on all day on Sunday as Mr Michel, aided by Mr Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tried to commit the Frugals and the more indebted — and virus-ravaged — to a compromise.
Mr Rutte wants member states to have a veto on national economic plans by the likes of Italy and Spain, in order to oblige them to pursue reforms to borrowing and their labour and pensions markets, an effort that was angrily resisted by Italy.
Over dinner, Mr Michel reminded leaders of the devastating cost of the pandemic and urged them to unite.
“The question is this: are the 27 leaders capable of building European unity and trust?” Mr Michel asked. “Or will we present the face of a weak Europe, undermined by mistrust?”
Another obstacle emerged when Hungary’s hard-line premier Viktor Orban accused Mr Rutte of waging a personal vendetta against him and his country — and vowed to thwart any effort to tie spending to countries’ respect for EU standards.