‘Defining moment’ as EU executive pushes for €500bn in grants

Plan to help EU states hardest hit by coronavirus faces resistance from frugal four'

The European Union executive has called for a 750bn (671bn) recovery plan to help the hardest hit countries find a way out of the unprecedented economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU faced a defining moment, never seen in its 70-year history. The crisis has huge externalities and spillovers across all countries and none of that can be fixed by any single country alone."