Germany is confident that its joint proposal with France to establish an EU Recovery Fund worth 500 billion euros ($545 billion) to aid the bloc's economy amid the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak will get the support of other member states, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Tuesday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2020) Germany is confident that its joint proposal with France to establish an EU Recovery Fund worth 500 billion Euros ($545 billion) to aid the bloc's economy amid the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak will get the support of other member states, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Tuesday.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron launched the initiative, which plans to allocate the funds to the sectors and regions that have been most severely affected by the epidemiological and economic crisis.
"I'm very sure. I think that this is a convincing initiative that takes into account the views of various parties. I also think it is positive that Germany and France jointly made this proposal," Maas said at a press conference.
The foreign minister added that EU member states must work quickly to mitigate the long-term economic impacts of the health crisis.
"We will discuss the details with all the members of the European Union, but now we have agreed that we quickly need to find a solution. It is good that this proposal is on the table ... I hope that in the course of discussions, we will be able to make sure that at the end, the proposal will, at least at its core, resemble the proposal that was put forward by President Macron and Chancellor Merkel," Maas remarked.
The plan launched by Germany and France has received the support of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, although Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stated that he, and the leaders of Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, believe that support should be provided by loans, rather than raising member state contributions.
Von der Leyen has previously said that money allocated to an EU Recovery Fund must be accounted for in the EU's next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which is set to be agreed for 2021-2027. The European Commission is set to adopt its MFF proposal on May 27, commission spokesman Eric Mamer said Friday.
