European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen's planned 750 billion euros rescue fund to help EU states rebuild their coronvirus-ravaged economies is "a turning point" in tackling an "unprecedented crisis" the EU's economy chief Paolo Gentiloni tweeted on Wednesday.
"The Commission's proposed 750 billion euro Recovery Fund comes on top instruments that have already been launched. It is a European turning-point amid an unprecedented crisis," read Gentioni's tweet.
Economies across the 27-nation EU bloc have been ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, but several southern states including Gentiloni's native Italy had big debts even before the crisis.
Italy - one of the countries hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic - stands to receive 80 billion euros in grants and 90 billion euros in loans from the proposed recovery fund, Adnkronos learned from government sources.
Von der Leyen said the recovery fund would be made up of 500 billion euros in grants and 250 billion in loans. When added to a proposed 1.1 trillion euro budget for 2021-27, the fund would bring to 1.85 trillion euros the amount that the Commission says will "kick-start" Europe's economy.
If the 1.85 trillion euros are added to an earlier 540 billion initial rescue package, that would amount to a total of €2.4 trillion euros of funds to help Europe "bounce back" from Covid-19, von der Leyen said.
