EU LEADERS WEIGH MASSIVE VIRUS ECONOMIC RECOVERY MEASURES

The new coronavirus is devastating lives, health care systems, and economies, and European Union leaders must work together, using every lever at their disposal, to rebuild and restore public faith in the EU project, the head of the bloc’s parliament warned.

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Speaking to reporters after giving a speech to the bloc’s 27 leaders at the start of their videoconference summit, European Parliament President David Sassoli said “we are extremely concerned because we can see a downward spiral, and we are going to need every instrument available.”

Referring to the massive U.S. aid package in 1948 that helped Europe rebuild after World War II, Sassoli said that “we’ve all called for this new Marshall Plan for Europe, but with a major difference of course. The funds will not be coming from abroad this time, but rather from European countries and economies.”