Paphos Life

I sometimes wonder why really important news are not posted on here....

https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/07/21/anas ... h-eu-deal/

Max

Conditions are essential.

Italy receive 189 billion..28% Ireland contribute 16.8 billion and receive...3 billion back

tonee wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 5:23 pm Italy receive 189 billion..28% Ireland contribute 16.8 billion and receive...3 billion back

Maybe Ireland though it's a price worth paying.

Jim

This is the whole point of the EU. You all chip in and when one or more of you are in the shit, the rest help out. This time Italy needed the help most. Who knows who will need it most next time?

Not so fast folks! Following from the Daily Express - so it must be true.

Quote. THE European Parliament has branded parts of the bloc's £1.6 trillion post-pandemic spending plans "unacceptable" as a huge row threatens to break out between Brussels' most influential institutions.
The Parliament’s budget negotiators raised deep concerns with the proposals signed off by EU leaders after an acrimonious five-day summit ended yesterday. After hours of bitter wrangling, they agreed on a £676billion coronavirus recovery fund and a £1trillion, seven-year budget to help deliver aid to the EU’s worst hit industries and regions. The recovery fund would see the Commission borrow £676 billion on the international markets. Eurocrats would then distribute £351billion as grants and £327billion as low-cost loans.
In order for the vast financial package to take effect, MEPs must first rubber-stamp the proposals.
But when the results of the summit are debated in the Parliament tomorrow, there is no certainty MEPs will instantly show their support.
Johan Van Overtveldt, chairman of its budget committee, said: “Parliament cannot accept the proposed record low ceilings as they mean renouncing to the EU’s long-term objectives and strategic autonomy, while citizens ask for more.
“More European solidarity, more European action in public health, in research and digitalisation, youth, and in the historical fight against climate change. Key programmes to reach these objectives have been considerably shrunk and lost most of their top-ups under Next Generation EU.”
“The compromise is also a flagrant missed opportunity when it comes to modernising the revenue side, making it fairer and more transparent,” he added, with the support of five other MEPs.
“The EU is now allowed to borrow funds but there is no certainty on how the debt will be repaid. Parliament has been clear: the recovery should not reduce investment capacities nor harm the national taxpayer. This is why new genuine own resources are the solution to repay the common debt, but the plastic-based contribution will not do the trick alone!”
The Parliament’s budget negotiators insisted they were ready to enter into fresh talks with the European Council and Parliament to fix the flaws.
Talks could be dragged on into next year with legislation already in place to give the bloc a temporary budget, they added.
“If our conditions are not sufficiently met we will adopt the programmes on the basis of the existing MFF, as foreseen by the Treaty,” they said.
The Parliament’s main political groups have also stated they oppose the backroom deal reached by EU governments this week.
Unquote.

Meanwhile, from Reuters...


MILAN (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union has moved on from its messy handling of the euro zone debt crisis. After intense talks, the bloc’s leaders agreed at dawn on Tuesday on a 750 billion euro stimulus plan backed by common funds to help countries fight the economic impact of the pandemic. Despite some concessions, the plan looks workable and creates positive incentives for reforms.

The deal was agreed after the longest ever meeting of EU leaders and involved some inevitable compromises. To appease rich nations led by the Netherlands, the bloc cut the amount to be disbursed as grants to 390 billion euros from the 500 billion euros originally proposed by the European Commission. Loans were hiked to 360 billion euros from 250 billion euros originally, potentially adding to the national debts of some hard-hit countries like Italy or Spain.

Yet, the agreement establishes some key precepts that will help the bloc better fight this and future crisis. It endorses the principle of EU collective borrowing and allows for the transfer of funds, via grants, from rich to weaker nations. That helps countries most affected recover more quickly, reducing economic divergences within the EU. Most of the grants will be allocated using past unemployment rates as a reference, while a smaller portion will take the GDP hit from the pandemic into account. Goldman Sachs analysts estimate Italy and Spain will receive about 80 billion euros and 70 billion euros in grants respectively, equivalent to 4.4% and 5.5% of GDP.

Also, contrary to what happened during the debt crisis of 2010-2012, the funds won’t require harsh austerity demands like pension cuts or tax hikes, which deepened an economic recession in countries like Greece and Italy. The stimulus will instead be used to boost growth by investing in areas like the green and digital economy.

There will be collective oversight from the commission and other EU states to ensure the funds are well spent. But disbursements will be decided by qualified majority voting rather than by unanimity, reducing the likelihood of a stalemate. If one country objects to another’s spending, it can ask for a three-month review, slowing but not hindering the plan.

Despite some concessions, the EU has agreed on a good template for future crisis management. The result should be a stronger Europe.

We shall see.