A plan for injecting billions of euros of emergency aid into Europe’s battered economies has been agreed by EU heads.
Meeting via video, they agreed to set up a massive recovery fund, closely tied to the bloc’s seven-year budget.
They also confirmed that €540bn (£470bn) of financial support would be released through existing mechanisms from 1 June.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the fund would mobilise €1 trillion of investment.
There has been bitter argument over how to fund the much-needed aid. But Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said “great progress” had been made on Thursday.
Italy – which has had the deadliest outbreak in Europe to date – had urged its EU partners, especially the richer countries of northern Europe, to show more solidarity.
Details of how the longer term recovery plan will be funded will be discussed at another videoconference on 6 May.