Germany, France propose recovery fund for pandemic-hit EU

Germany and France jointly proposed a 500 billion-euro ($543 billion) recovery fund Monday to boost European economies hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a joint statement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron said the fund would see European Union budget money used to help sectors and regions that are particularly affected by the outbreak.

Macron said that under the proposal, the 27 EU countries would use their collective weight to borrow money on financial markets.

We are proposing to do real transfers (of money) ... that's a major step, he said Monday.

The two leaders said they will seek a swift agreement from other EU members for the proposed recovery fund, which is likely to run into resistance from fiscal hawks in the bloc such as the Netherlands.

Germany, too, has long resisted the idea of joint borrowing, but Merkel said that because of the unusual nature of the crisis we are choosing an unusual path."