Economics
EU Budget Hard-Liners Outline Aid Plan Edging Toward Compromise
- Austria, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands unveil fund proposal
- Signals include possibility of grants, call for a time limit
Merkel during a video conference with Emmanuel Macron at the Chancellor's Office on May 18.
Photographer: Handout/Getty Images
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The European Union’s budget hard-liners outlined elements of a deal for collectively financing the bloc’s response to the coronavirus recession, signaling they may be open to concessions.
In a joint paper, the leaders of Austria, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands — net donors to the EU budget and traditionally skeptical of its expansion — reiterated their opposition to debt mutualization and emphasized that any aid program must have a time limit.