European recovery Plan: the countries of the North reject the franco-German proposal

our correspondent in Brussels

No question of granting of grants to the countries most affected by the crisis of the sars coronavirus. The "four countries frugal" (the netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark) have addressed Saturday morning, may 23rd at the european Commission and to the capitals of their proposal "for a recovery in effective and sustainable" in the block. It is the opposite of what wish Paris and Berlin.

In this document that The Figaro was able to consult, countries in the North say they are certainly in favour of the creation of"an emergency fund is temporary and only to support the economic recovery and the resilience of our health sectors to the potential wave of future", which by borrowings made by the Commission, would strengthen the european budget. But, as so often repeated in recent days the chancellor of austria Sebastian Kurz, and as he declared Friday night on Bild TV, they reject the principle of debts shared and the option according to which the EU support to the countries most affected by the crisis of the sars coronavirus would take the form of donations, such as the want to Paris and Berlin, as well as the countries of the south. "We propose to create a fund to raise emergency based on an approach 'loan for loan', consistent with the fundamental principles of the EU budget", it is written in the document.

The four countries also propose to regulate this stimulus money. So, will he be limited to two years and will he be taken to reduce the financial risk of the member States in the event of default of a country that is a beneficiary of the loans. Other conditions are also laid down: "in-depth assessment of the needs of sectors and segments most affected by the crisis, "a firm commitment in favour of reform" on the part of beneficiary countries, support to research and innovation, as well as the covenant green and the digital transition to support the recovery, respect for the rule of law, etc

The four countries involved, in addition, their terms and conditions in respect of the european budget for the period 2021-2027, which will be revamped, in order to take account of the crisis of the sars coronavirus. It is not desirable, according to them, lead to "a significant increase" of the budget. Because, they argue, "additional funds to the EU, regardless of the manner in which they are financed, will weigh in more on the national budgets". As they had already done in February, during the disastrous european Council dedicated to the budget, they call again to make economies, "redefining the priorities in the areas that are the least likely to contribute to the recovery".

Obviously the crisis of the coronavirus has not been because of the orthodoxy of the countries of Northern Europe. Moreover, they can be used in this note to put the points on the "i". "Our position on the european budget is unchanged. We continue to request that the national contributions are limited and we recall that the justification of the corrections (that is to say, of the discounts they have, editor's note) "remains valid", they write.

The president of the european Commission, and Ursula von der Leyen, must submit Wednesday, may 27 a recovery plan. In view of the differences of positions between the member States, the equation seems impossible.

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