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| - Four European countries will propose a tougher alternative to a huge Franco-German fund to help the economy through the coronavirus crisis, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Wednesday. The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden -- dubbed the "Frugal Four" -- will insist on greater guarantees that countries getting aid will enact reforms, and that any help should be in the form of loans not grants. French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday proposed a 500-billion-euro ($546 billion) fund to mend an economy devastated by the pandemic. "We are also working on a suggestion. Merkel and Macron have given a relevant contribution to the discussions. We are busy with it but there's no precise timing," Rutte told a press conference. France and Germany are the most powerful of 27 member bloc and together make up roughly half of the eurozone single currency economy. Anything of significance agreed at the EU level requires their backing, and Germany's surprise decision to endorse a post-coronavirus plan depending on jointly issued debt was seen by many as historic. But the thrifty Dutch and others have already dug in their heels ahead of a summit next week to seal the deal. Rutte said they would be "very clear in our proposals that if you make claims for help, you have to implement really far-reaching reforms so that you can take care of yourself the next time," Rutte said. Largely northern, fiscally conservative European nations including the Dutch have previously opposed shared eurozone debt called "coronabonds" as a way out of the crisis. The row caused bad blood between debt-laden EU countries such as Italy and Spain, which have suffered the worst from coronavirus, and the Netherlands in particular. "The question is really why countries in the south are unable to invest as much in the economy as we do?" said Rutte. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz earlier tweeted that he had "just had a good exchange with the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden" on the issue. He said their "position remains unchanged" in that they were "ready to help most affected countries with loans" but did not want an overall increase in the EU's multi-year budget. jhe/dk/cdw
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