After four days and nights of tough negotiations and many painful compromises, European leaders have reached a deal on a groundbreaking €750 billion ($868 billion) recovery fund. As a gesture of solidarity toward Italy, Spain and other countries still reeling from the COVID-19 crisis, the agreement is a major step forward for the European Union. Even so, it does little to address the eurozone’s deepest problems.
The COVID-19 crisis has strained the monetary union to breaking point. While the pain has been widely shared, some countries have been hit harder than others. Italy, France and Spain have suffered the most deaths and the deepest recessions, and tourist-reliant southern Europe seems headed for an especially slow recovery.
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