MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU unveils 750bn Euro recovery package, but Italy and Spain must convince their northern partners

“This is Europe's moment,” EU Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen said, urging solidarity. ”We either all go it alone, leaving countries, regions and people behind ... or we walk that road together.

The European Union unveiled a proposed 750-billion-euro (US$ 825bn) recovery plan Wednesday to get the continent back on its feet after the devastation wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic, as Latin America outpaced Europe and the US in the number of daily infections.

“This is Europe's moment,” EU Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen said, urging solidarity. “We either all go it alone, leaving countries, regions and people behind ... or we walk that road together.”

The massive European plan follows other unprecedented emergency measures introduced around the world to rescue economies shattered by the disease, which has claimed more than 350,000 lives with infections rapidly approaching 5.6 million.

While the virus continues to cause havoc in Latin America, Europe has slowly started reopening businesses as outbreaks on the continent slow, but Italy and Spain lack the firepower of richer European nations to rebuild their economies.

The European Commission put forward the 750 billion euro proposal to the European Parliament and member states on Wednesday, aiming to help the worst-affected countries with a mix of grants and loans.

Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni hailed the proposal as a “European breakthrough” that would “tackle an unprecedented crisis”.

Last week EU officials said the recovery package could be as much as one trillion Euros, but the amount was announced Wednesday as 750 billion euros - a mixture of grants a loan credits.

Heavily indebted Italy and Spain are slated to be the biggest beneficiaries. Italy would receive up to 81.8 billion in direct aid and 90.9 billion in loans, while Spain would receive 77.3 billion in aid and 63.1 billion in credits, the document said.

The proposed package is expected to kick off tough negotiations, as backers try to win the support of some northern EU states that oppose paying out aid in grants to nations already under mountains of debt - such as Italy and Spain.

The proposal comes as the continent - which has lost at least 173,000 people to COVID-19 - grapples with the human tragedy and economic destruction.

Spain and others hit particularly hard, such as Italy, Germany, France and Britain, have all started easing their lockdowns, as people head to shops, sunbathe at beaches and run in parks after months of confinement.

Russia, meanwhile, said it had passed its peak of infections, promising to hold postponed World War II victory celebrations next month.

While desperate to kickstart their economies, especially the tourism sector, most governments in Europe are also trying to move cautiously, afraid of a second wave of infections. That fear has meant some activities have been allowed again, while others must wait -- including choir singing.

After horror stories emerged from choirs around the world of mass infections among singers, the activity is now considered dangerous by German authorities.