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Macron, Merkel float ‘ambitious’ EU virus fund
France and Germany are proposing a €500bn ($545bn; £448bn) European recovery fund to be distributed to European Union (EU) countries worst affected by COVID-19.
In talks on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that the funds should be provided as grants.
The proposal represents a significant shift in Mrs Merkel’s position.
Mr Macron said it was a major step forward and was “what the eurozone needs to remain united”.
“I believe this is a very deep transformation and that’s what the European Union and the single market needed to remain coherent,” Mr Macron said following discussions via video link.
Mrs Merkel, who had previously rejected the idea of nations sharing debt, said the European Commission would raise money for the fund by borrowing on the markets, which would be repaid gradually from the EU’s overall budget.
Grants provided by the proposed recovery fund should also be used to help finance the bloc’s investment in a greener future, the two leaders said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposal “acknowledges the scope and the size of the economic challenge that Europe faces”.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said the plan was “ambitious, targeted and welcome”.
Other EU countries must agree with the proposal, however, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz later insisted that his country backed providing loans to member nations hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, rather than grants.
“Our position remains unchanged,” Mr Kurz wrote in a tweet, adding: “We expect the updated [EU budget] to reflect the new priorities rather than raising the ceiling.”
In EU political terms this is huge.
Chancellor Merkel has conceded a lot. She openly agreed with the French that any money from this fund, allocated to a needy EU country, should be a grant, not a loan. Importantly, this means not increasing the debts of economies already weak before the pandemic.
President Macron gave ground, too. He had wanted a huge fund of a trillion or more Euros. But a trillion Euros of grants was probably too much for Mrs Merkel to swallow on behalf of fellow German taxpayers.
The resulting compromise: a win-win for the two leaders. They hope. -BBC
Search and rescue operations are ongoing following a structural collapse at the Experimental D/A School in Accra Newtown.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) confirmed that emergency teams were deployed to the scene to assist victims who may be trapped under the debris.
In an update, the service indicated that personnel from the Ghana Police Service, the National Ambulance Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) are workin7g together to manage the situation and rescue affected persons.
It noted that the area has been cordoned off by the police to prevent members of the public from entering the scene and interfering with the operation.
According to the GNFS, the coordinated effort is aimed at ensuring that all trapped victims are safely rescued as quickly as possible.
The service advised residents and the general public to stay away from the area to allow emergency teams to carry out their work without obstruction.
The service added that further updates will be provided as the situation develops.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The New Times Corporation (NTC), publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator, on Wednesday held a staff get-together to commemorate the Ghana Month celebration.
The event was also to strengthen teamwork and bonding. It was attended by management members and staff from various departments.
The staff were engaged in activities such as apple eating, musical chairs competition, pick and act, and other interesting games.
Speaking at the gathering, the Chairperson of the Corporation’s Interim Management Committee (IMC), Dr (Mrs) Charity Binka, emphasised the importance of unity and collaboration in achieving organisational goals. She urged the staff to put aside their differences, work together, and also create a positive working environment.
In a welcome address, the Editor of The Spectator, Mrs Georgina Naa-Maku Quaitoo, urged the staff to have fun as “we climax the Ghana Month celebration with this get-together.”
The Acting Editor of The Ghanaian Times, Mr David Adadevoh, commended the staff for coming out in their numbers to join in the celebration and called for unity to transform the fortunes of the Corporation.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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