Macron hails historic EU deal to tackle coronavirus crisis

The European Union has reached a historic deal that puts at the bloc’s disposal the shared financial resources needed to tackle the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

Macron said the deal followed long and difficult negotiations, during which concessions had to be made to win over member states whose objections were blocking a deal.

But the concessions were proportionate, and necessary to deliver a recovery plan big enough to be effective, he added.

“There is no such thing as a perfect world, but we have made progress,” Macron told a news briefing. [Reuters]