France, Germany push for rapid EU recovery plan agreement The leaders of Germany and France say they will use their influence as European Union powerhouses to help negotiate a rapid agreement on a coronavirus recovery package for the 27-nation bloc that leaves no country behindGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talk during a bilateral meeting at the German government's guest house Meseberg Castle in Gransee near Berlin, Germany, Monday, June 29 2020. The meeting takes place ahead of Germany's EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2020. Already in May, Merkel and Macron together proposed creating a one-off 500 billion-euro ($561 billion) recovery fund that would be filled through shared EU borrowing. “The expectations are high and we know that when Germany and France are united, Europe is not necessarily united. “We can make this moment of truth a moment of success,” he said, insisting on the need for a European agreement on an economic recovery plan.

Source: ABC News June 29, 2020 18:45 UTC