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WE’RE ENTERING INTO a crucial seven days for the European Union’s response to the economic fallout of Covid-19.
Next Friday week, the European Council will meet face to face in Brussels for the first time since the start of the crisis to try and hash out the final details of next year’s EU budget and the proposed €750 billion recovery fund.
Announced in May, the fund — dubbed Next Generation EU — will be raised through borrowing on international markets by the European Commission and then split between member states through a mix of grants and repayable loans.
Although German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for European unity yesterday ahead of the crunch talks, significant obstacles lie ahead for countries like Germany, France, Spain and Italy who are pushing for the deal.
Merkel met Wednesday with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and two other EU leaders, Charles Michel and David Sassoli, to prepare for the 17 July meeting.
In a joint statement, they underscored “that reaching swiftly an agreement on an ambitious European recovery package is the EU’s highest priority for the coming weeks.”
In addition, they “stressed that it would be essential that Heads of State and Government reach an agreement during this European Council meeting.”
Today, the German chancellor will welcome Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte to Berlin where she hopes to break down his resistance to the proposed plan.
Rutte leads a group of northern European countries — which also includes Austria, Sweden and Denmark — in opposing certain details of the deal and its focus on southern states.
Specifically, the ‘Frugal Four’ countries are against the idea of handing out billions in obligation-free grants to member states with historic levels of debt, countries like Spain and Italy, which have suffered the worst impact of the virus in Europe.
In return for grants, the Netherlands and its allies want to enforce sweeping reforms to the tax and pension systems of those countries.
Today, Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Vienna wanted to find a “compromise” on an EU virus package, which several bloc members, including Austria, are opposing.
Minds will have been focused this week on fresh European Commission economic forecasts, which suggest that the economic blow of the virus has been much worse than expected.
Covid-19 is expected to shave a full percentage point off eurozone and broader European Union GDP in 2020 than previously expected.
Additional reporting by AFP
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If you have no idea what the cause is how can you rule out terrorism?
@Walt Jabsco: Because, as I’ve read from other sources, no traces of explosives have been found so far, and the pilot had refused to undergo the deicing procedure, as well as the aircraft maintenance company is under investigation for not following procedure in regards to oil change and air filter replacement.
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus:
Terrorism might be unlikely, but until such time as the precise cause has been established (which it hasn’t yet) how can anything be ruled out?
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: “oil change and air filter replacemenr”? Are you having a laugh?
@Walt Jabsco: In that case you can’t rule out exploding mutant gerbils either.
@Dazz: There little ba***rds them gerbils .They get everywhere
@Ger Healy: Why, do you think airplanes magically maintain themselves, and don’t require oil, or air filters?
The Russian prosecutor’s office launched criminal proceedings for suspected violations of air traffic safety rules. They found reports that the airliner had been banned from operating international routes in 2015 and had resumed operation after it changed its policy in 2016. Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor) stated that during their examination on the accident aircraft, the airliner had violated the procedure of the oil change in the gearboxes and the washing of the air starter filter.
from: “СК возбудил дело после крушения Ан-148 в Подмосковье”. РИА Новости (in Russian). 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
Does terrorism have to be mentioned now with every tragedy
@Shaun Gallagher: Unfortunately it’s indicative of the world we live in that it must be considered. To dismiss it and refuse to consider it as a possibility smacks of political interference and indicates it may be the real cause.
@Shaun Gallagher: Only in western countries….the phony war of terrorism.
Interesting name in the passanger manifest. Vyacheslav Ivanov.
@PutinBot 5000:
Doubt it’s the same one that died last october though…
@Walt Jabsco: Vyacheslav Ivanov-Rosatom-Clinton-Uranium.
@PutinBot 5000: Fake news. The Rosatom lad’s name is Vyacheslav Pershukov Alexandrovich (b. 1958).
https://rosatom.ru/en/about-us/governance/management-board/pershukov/
The guy on the plane, Ivanov, was born in ‘86.
You’ll need better sources than /r/TheDonald, brother.
@Malachi: Thanks bro. You’re like a Qi elf :-)
@PutinBot 5000: Lol
I do hope the de-icing was carried out correctly pre flight.
Unfortunately many Russian pilots have a terrible reputation for skipping this vital procedure.
https://youtu.be/5GIU94dg1ek
have your say