European Council President Charles Michel told a news conference at dawn on Tuesday that the agreement struck by the 27 EU leaders “sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action."
The deal “is about a lot more than money,” Michel said. “It is about workers and families, their jobs, their health and their well-being."
"I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe's journey, but it will also launch us into the future," he told reporters after the fractious summit, which lasted almost five days.
The meeting started on Friday and was originally scheduled for two days, with no guarantee that EU member states pressing their national interests would be able to reach a compromise on a proposed EUR 1.07 trillion long-term budget for the bloc for 2021-2027 and a massive post-pandemic recovery fund.
Grants and loans for coronavirus-stricken economies
The EU’s executive in May unveiled a EUR 750 billion proposal to prop up economies battered by the coronavirus and help the bloc out of its worst economic crisis since World War II.
Polish media reported at the time that Poland stood to receive more than EUR 63 billion from EU coffers in grants and loans under the recovery plan.
Under the deal reached by the EU leaders on Tuesday, the recovery fund, dubbed "Next Generation EU," will include EUR 390 billion in grants and EUR 360 billion in loans for member states, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.
According to the Reuters news agency, Poland stands to be a top beneficiary of the recovery package, receiving tens of billions of euros in grants and cheap loans, along with high-debt Mediterranean-rim countries that have taken the brunt of the pandemic in Europe.
Almost EUR 160 billion for Poland: PM
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Tuesday morning that the agreement reached in Brussels meant Poland would receive almost EUR 125 billion in non-repayable grants and around EUR 34 billion in cheap loans under both the stimulus plan and the EU's next common budget—working out to "a total of almost EUR 160 billion at current prices.”
The recovery plan greenlighted by EU leaders has yet to be approved by the European Parliament and ratified by all member states.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "Today we’ve taken a historic step we all can be proud of. But other important steps remain. First and most important: to gain the support of the European Parliament."
In an op-ed piece published by the euractiv.com website last month, Poland’s Morawiecki called for "an ambitious and decisive response" to the economic fallout from the pandemic, while also saying that the coronavirus crisis should "provide a lever for development” in Europe.
Morawiecki in April called for a “new Marshall Plan” for Europe to aid the continent’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
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Source: PAP, Reuters
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Michał Owczarek.