Coronavirus: EU leaders start third day of recovery talks

EU leaders have gathered for a third day of discussions over a massive post-coronavirus economic recovery plan.

Some member states believe the proposed €750bn ($857bn; £680bn) package is too large and should come as loans, rather than grants.

The unplanned third day of talks comes after a record one-day rise in new infections worldwide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that new cases rose by almost 260,000 in 24 hours.

Officials said this was the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began, and the first time the number of new daily infections has surpassed a quarter of a million. The previous record rise in new confirmed cases was recorded by the WHO just one day earlier.

The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus passed 14 million on Saturday, with over 600,000 recorded deaths, according to the tally kept by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

How are the EU talks going?

EU leaders first met on Friday in Brussels to discuss the bloc’s €1 trillion seven-year budget and the planned stimulus package to help countries recover the pandemic.

It is the first face-to-face meeting between leaders since governments began imposing lockdowns in a bid to stop the spread of the virus in March.

Member states are split between those hit hardest by the outbreak, and those concerned about the costs of the recovery plan.

Some “frugal” northern nations like the Netherlands and Sweden have balked at the package, arguing it should take the forms of loans not grants.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Europe was “under the blackmail of the ‘frugals'” and described negotiations as “heated”.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, however, said he thought they were going in the right direction.

The summit resumes at 12:00 local time (10:00 GMT). European Council President Charles Michel will reportedly hand out new proposals before leaders reconvene.

Many European nations have ended lockdown restrictions, but the virus remains a major threat.

Officials are facing localised outbreaks across the continent, with the largest appearing in Spain’s north-eastern region of Catalonia. About four million people in ​​Barcelona, ​​La Noguera and El Segrià have been ordered to stay at home for 15 days.

Among the measures imposed are a ban on public or private meetings of more than 10 people; a ban on visits to nursing homes; and the closure of gyms and nightclubs.

EU budget commissioner Johannes Hahn tweeted a “solemn reminder” on Saturday that the pandemic is “not over”.

“High time to reach an agreement which allows us to provide the urgently needed support for our citizens and economies,” he wrote.