France and Germany Propose €500 Billion EU Recovery Fund for COVID-19 Affected Countries

The announcement has been made in a joint video conference on Monday, May 17. It is the first time when the two countries agreed on a recovery fund for Covid-19 affected EU countries. There will be a €500 Billion EU recovery fund for the affected countries, regions and economies.

Usually, the agreement between the two European powers pave the way to European Council decisions.

French president, Emmanuel Macron, insisted that the funds should be offered in form of grants and not loans. The main difference between the two is that loans have to be re-payed, while grants not. This would be a real help for the most affected countries, as the recovery time, according to specialists, is to be longer than previously estimated.

There will be also a debate as the criteria taken into consideration when defining the countries, the regions or the industry branches to be helped first, but this is to be discussed at EU level.

The announcement came right after the economic prognosis which predicts the euro-zone will contract with 7% this year, with Italy and Spain with an even bigger contraction of up to 10%.