Dutch PM says progress in EU virus recovery talks, but failure still possible

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday EU leaders were making progress towards an agreement on a plan to revive economies throttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but warned discussions could still fall apart. "At times it didn't look good last night, but I feel that on the whole, we are making progress," Rutte told reporters in Brussels.

EU leaders were at an impasse on Monday after three days of haggling over the plan, with summit chairman Charles Michel describing the task as "mission impossible".