Finland Objects To EU Council's Recovery Plan

Finland expressed reservations Friday to a revised budget proposal by European Council President Charles Michel, and the massive COVID-19 recovery fund plan being debated at a special meeting next week

Helsinki, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jul, 2020 ) :Finland expressed reservations Friday to a revised budget proposal by European Council President Charles Michel, and the massive COVID-19 recovery fund plan being debated at a special meeting next week.

Michel presented an update to a proposal for a 750-billion-euro pandemic recovery fund on Friday in the hope of winning over more frugal member states.

To appease holdouts, the council president revised the EU's seven-year budget downwards to 1.074 trillion Euros ($1.2 trillion), 13 billion euros less than an earlier proposal.

Michel also said countries with long-held rebates to their contribution would keep them.

However, Michel did not cede ground on the main point of contention: whether aid from the recovery fund should take the form of grants or loans.

"Some right steps... but much work needs to be done on the recovery package," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin wrote on Twitter.

"We need a lower overall level and better balance of grants and loans," the 34-year-old government head added.

The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark are the so-called "frugal four" countries that object to the plan and some analysts have dubbed Finland the "fifth frugal."The recovery plan, as well as the EU budget, require unanimous approval among member states at the July 17-18 summit.