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| - EU leaders will try Thursday to unify their scattershot response to the COVID-19 epidemic, after hardest-hit Spain, France and Italy called for joint borrowing to share the economic burden. Hundreds of millions of the bloc's citizens are holed up at home, during lockdowns imposed to help slow the pandemic that has killed more than 20,000 Europeans and crippled business life. As the global outbreak first took hold, member states privileged national responses by shutting borders, hoarding medical supplies and waving through major spending plans regardless of EU rules. "When Europe really needed to be there for each other, too many initially looked out for themselves," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of the talks. "When Europe really needed an 'all for one' spirit, too many initially gave an 'only for me' response," she added, speaking at a sparsely attended session of European Parliament. The former German defence minister said Brussels was now trying to build a more singular approach and leaders will use video talks to put that into action. According to a draft statement, measures should include building an emergency stock of medical equipment and easing inter-EU border closures. They will also rubber stamp the suspension of EU deficit rules that will allow countries to spend freely to fight the virus regardless of their on some cases already yawning public deficits. The 27 leaders will task EU officials to work on an "exit strategy" and recovery plan to help rebuild the economy after the havoc wrought by COVID-19 and the drastic measures taken to fight it. At a videoconference last week Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte suggested the creation of "corona bonds" that would pool the debts of the 19 countries in the eurozone. But instead the draft conclusions for Thursday's meeting, seen by AFP, say the 27 invite their ministers to continue working on how to support the economy -- without further details. In a another call for solidarity ahead of the talks, nine EU leaders had said any economic plan should include the launch of joint borrowing by members of the euro single currency. But that proposal was rejected behind the scenes by Germany, the Netherlands and other rich northern bloc members, who slam it as indecently "ideological" during a health crisis. France, Spain and Italy have long called for a some kind of eurobond, that would in effect allow joint borrowing by the 19 members of the euro single currency. They say it could serve as the bedrock of a safer and more unified European economy and would become a globally respected asset on par with the US Treasury bills. But wealthier members see the eurobond as an attempt by over-spending southerners to take advantage of the cheap borrowing prices afforded Germany and other paragons of balanced budgets. "It is always nice to have nine leaders write letters. But nine is not 27, it is not even a majority," one diplomat said. "Tonight, leaders will want to show unity and will concentrate on areas where they can find consensus and not on divisive issues like eurobonds." Thursday's summit will also take stock of measures taken across the bloc to promote the search for a vaccine. Europe has become the heart of the pandemic, with the death tolls in both Italy and Spain overtaking that of China, where the disease first emerged. arp/dc/ach
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