The special summit of the Corona-the rebuilding plan is in its fourth day, and he has the Potential to be the longest in the history of the EU. Only in nice in 2000, as it went after all, with the “Treaty of nice” on a fundamental institutional reorientation of the community, wrestled the EU heads of state and government (so far) longer with each other.

Hendrik Kafsack

economic correspondent in Brussels.

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After three days, now, after all, the sum of the subsidies, with the EU help the of the Corona-crisis-hit States cannot. 390 billion euros are now held by the European Commission’s proposed € 500 billion.

The southern Europeans, but also German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, have entered deep into the night of 400 billion euros, could not prevail against the “saving five” States, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, who wanted to see a symbolically important “3” in the front.

Now it comes to the discounts

The agreement is for the further course of the negotiations on the total of 1.8 trillion Euro package is a big step. A breakthrough is not yet. Because Council President Charles Michel, left in only a few minutes-long plenary meeting of the 27 heads of any doubt, before the session was interrupted until late in the afternoon.

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test in Front of all the other great open question of the special summit is not clear: it Can reduce the EU in the future, States that do not adhere to the EU Standards for the rule of law (Hungary, Poland), grants from the EU budget and the re-building plan? The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has threatened in the past few days several times with his Veto, should insist the other heads of it – supported not only by Poland, but also from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Merkel and Macron have already indicated that they want an agreement is not in the right state mechanism fail. Ironically, the “saving seeds” insisting, however, in the past – what drove Macron over the on Monday night, once again, to a temper tantrum. Several times he had beaten in a meeting with the “Economical” with the fist on the table, began to disappear widespread.