The European Commission is trying to reconcile the member states around a new budget proposal and recovery plan in the wake of the health crisis affecting the continent. The main challenge of this proposal is to reconcile the Franco-German project of a mutualised European debt with the reluctance of countries such as the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark, which defend the principle of a simple loan for each member state.
750 billion to help Member States cope with the economic and social consequences of the VIDOC crisis was enthusiastically received by Germany, France and Belgium.
This proposal, far from being unanimous, is a cause for concern in Europe. Countries such as the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark, at first the only opponents of the plan to pool the debts linked to the crisis, are now joined by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The latter fear that this redirection of funds towards the South of Europe will be to the detriment of European cohesion policy.
Yet the hope of reaching an agreement remains. States opposed to this project may well be offered advantages in terms of contribution to the EU budget.