GERMANY - Angela Merkel has issued a damning warning about the implications of the devastating coronavirus crisis and 'how fragile the European project still is', during a speech in the German parliament. The European Union has been embroiled in a huge spat about how the Brussels bloc will manage the financial burden caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Angela Merkel warned the coronavirus pandemic that has swept through the bloc has exposed the weaknesses of the EU. She insisted Germany will use its six-month presidency of the European Council, which begins on July 1, to promote solidarity and economic growth among the remaining 27 member states.
Speaking in the German parliament, the Chancellor said the most pressing issue facing the bloc reeling from more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths and facing its worst recession since World War 2 is to quickly agree a multi-year budget and recovery fund.
Ms Merkel also lamented the "rather national and not European" initial response to the pandemic by EU governments, including that from her own in Germany. The German Chancellor said: "The pandemic has revealed how fragile the European project still is. Cohesion and solidarity have never been more important than today."