Divided EU leaders headed for their third day locked in talks over Europe’s proposed €750bn response to the coronavirus pandemic, as they battled to overcome differences that have split north and south, and east and west.
After two days of marathon summit negotiations in Brussels, European leaders on Saturday evening failed to bridge deep differences over the size, design, and conditions attached to a planned multibillion-euro package of loans and grants designed to revive Europe’s economy after months of hibernation.
The summit has laid bare divisions pitting a group of richer “frugal” member states — Austria, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands — against the biggest recipients of EU pandemic emergency funds.