Dutch PM Rutte: Differences between northern, southern EU states not insurmountable

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday that disagreements between southern and northern European Union countries about how to respond to the coronavirus crisis are not insurmountable. At the same time he cautioned that the EU's emergency tools, such as the European Stability Mechanism, should be used sparingly because "we don't have so many cards left up our sleeve."

Rutte said: "I didn't notice anything about it last night in the video conference, there were differences of opinion between a number of more northern and a number of southern countries along the known dividing lines, but nothing that can't be resolved." The European Union's southern states were left fuming after the bloc's 27 national leaders failed to agree on more support for their economies, which have been battered by the disease, in a six-hour call on Thursday.