The proposed 750 billion euro fund to help EU member states recover from economic devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is "a solid, good" prospect for Italy, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
"I think this is a solid, good proposal for Italy because we know that Italy and other member states have not only been hard it by the health emergency but are now suffering the economic crisis," von der Leyen told Sky TG24.
"This is why our proposal is very strong in its subsidies and loan options, its investment for the future and in our shared European priorities, for example the Green Deal (an ambitious blueprint to make EU carbon neutral by 2050) and digitalization, both key for Italy," she added.
The European Commission's proposed recovery fund comprises 500 billion euros of grants and 250 million euros of loans.
Coronavirus-hit Italy, which before the pandemic already had the eurozone's highest public debt to GDP ratios after Greece, stands to receive over 170 billion euros from the Recovery Fund, government sources told Adnkronos.
The EU will raise the 750 billion euros for the recovery fund by increasing the EU's resources ceiling to 2 percent of EU gross national income and it will be reliant on the EU's strong credit rating, according to von der Leyen.
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