Still long way to go on EU recovery fund deal, EU official says

Negotiations towards the European Union's coronavirus recovery fund still have a long way to go before a summit of EU leaders later this month, a senior EU official involved in the talks said on Thursday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said negotiators aimed to keep the size of the proposed 750 billion euro ($846.75 billion) recovery fund but to reduce the size of the EU's multi-year budget slightly.

Negotiations towards the European Union's coronavirus recovery fund still have a long way to go before a summit of EU leaders later this month, a senior EU official involved in the talks said on Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said negotiators aimed to keep the size of the proposed 750 billion euro ($846.75 billion) recovery fund but to reduce the size of the EU's multi-year budget slightly. European Council President Charles Michel will propose a budget for 2021-to-2027 of between 1.05 trillion euros and 1.094 trillion euros, the official said. ($1 = 0.8857 euros)