Economics
Europe’s Recovery Plan Comes Under Fire From Budget Hardliners
- Leaders meet in Brussels for second day of talks on stimulus
- Austria, Netherlands aim to strip back key component of plan
European Union leaders meet on the sidelines of an EU summit on a coronavirus recovery package in Brussels on July 18, 2020
Photographer: Francisco Seco/AFP via Getty Images
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European Union leaders meeting in Brussels for a second day were fighting to close a deal for a 750 billion-euro ($860 billion) stimulus package as fiscally hawkish countries from the North tried to strip the plan of much of its firepower.
While the Dutch government welcomed a new proposal unveiled on Saturday morning that cut the amount of grants in the program to 450 billion euros from 500 billion euros, Austria, Finland and others want to push the figure significantly below 400 billion euros, according to diplomats familiar with the talks.