schema:articleBody
| - Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Thursday that Vienna wanted to find a "compromise" on an EU virus package, which several bloc members, including Austria, are opposing. The 27 EU states' leaders meet in Brussels next week for a crunch summit aimed at agreeing a 750-billion euro ($843-billion) plan to tackle economic devastation wrought by the new coronavirus pandemic. But Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the so-called "Frugal Four", are trying to rein in spending, which is earmarked mainly for the hardest-hit poorer countries of southern Europe. "We want to find a compromise... I'm glad if there is a quick solution," Kurz said. But he still insisted any aid should be tied to conditions, such as climate protection, willingness to reform and rule of law. Together with Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, Austria has insisted that loans with tough conditions attached, rather than grants, should be the preferred method of rescue. Other countries argue that the plan misallocates the money, giving too much to eastern Europeans who were never on the front lines of the pandemic. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday urged EU countries to show solidarity and overcome deep divisions to approve the massive coronavirus recovery plan this summer. Of the proposed 750 billion euros, 500 billion euros would be redistributed in the form of grants, with the rest distributed as loans. jza/jh
|