Merkel’s Stimulus Vow Sets Up EU Battle for Recovery Funds
- ECB’s Lagarde warns leaders risk doing too little too late
- Comments made during video conference between EU leaders
Angela Merkel addresses a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin on April 23.
Photographer: Michael Kappeler/AFP via Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s pledge to back a huge reconstruction package for the European Union left officials in Brussels to settle a dispute over how more than 1 trillion euros of funds should be disbursed.
EU leaders inched toward an agreement on their rebuilding plans during a videoconference on Thursday but haven’t yet resolved their differences over whether member states will be given grants or loans. France and Spain are leading a group demanding the recovery is funded via handouts from a supercharged EU budget while the Netherlands and Austria are among those insisting the additional funds should take the form of low-interest loans.