Macron: we need EU coronavirus rescue package worth 5-10 points of GDP

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe's response to economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus crisis required financial transfers to the hardest-hit states and not just loans.

Speaking after EU leaders held a summit by video link on Thursday, Macron said the European Union's rescue package should be worth at least 5 to 10 percentage points of EU gross domestic product.

Disagreements over the size and shape of the rescue package persisted, Macron said, adding that the European project had no future if member states failed to respond to the "exceptional shock".