EU may need $1.7 trillion post-coronavirus package

An economic support package being readied to help the European Union recover from the coronavirus crisis may need be to worth around 1.6 trillion euros ($1.7 trillion), the EU’s industry chief Thierry Breton said.

The European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services told French TV station BFM TV he was working on plans around that type of figure with Economics Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.

According to him, that would represent some 10% of EU GDP.

Breton also said a “Marshall Plan” was needed to help the European tourism industry - in a reference to the U.S. aid program launched to help Europe after World War Two.

Member states disagree over the technical aspects of how to finance such a plan, and national leaders are expected to defer a final decision on it when they meet by videolink on Thursday, diplomats and officials said. There are also differences over how big such a fund needs to be, Reuters reported.