EU leaders clash over coronavirus plan as new cases hit single-day record
- World Health Organisation reports 237,743 fresh Covid-19 infections in 24 hours
- First day of marathon European talks ends without even partial breakthrough as nations argue over who should give and receive funds, and under what conditions
European Union leaders headed into Saturday, the scheduled final day of their summit, about as far apart from reaching a deal on an unprecedented €1.85 trillion (US$2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund as the seating distance imposed upon them for health reasons.
The marathon talks took place against the backdrop of a record increase in global coronavirus cases as reported by the World Health Organisation on Friday, with the total rising by 237,743 in 24 hours.
The prescient words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel that “the differences are still very, very big” were borne out, with not even a partial breakthrough on the horizon as negotiators headed into the weekend.
After two full sessions, summit host and European Council President Charles Michel worked with individual nations to narrow down their sizeable differences over who should give and get the money and under what conditions.
On a terrace at the top of the summit centre overlooking the Belgian capital late on Friday, Michel had talks with Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban – many of the opposing forces that could turn the summit into a failure by Saturday night.
