Europe is struggling to find the money
Rows over budget rules have been bitter
The EU’s 27 members have spent freely since early 2020 to support their economies and citizens through a global pandemic, a war on their doorstep and an energy-price surge. Back in 2020 richer northern EU members reluctantly signed up to a debt-funded recovery fund worth €806bn ($880bn, some 5% of EU GDP in 2022) that mostly benefits the south and east of the union. But high interest rates have bent these plans out of shape.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “How to fund it”
From the December 23rd 2023 edition
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