EU leaders must make Europe a Union of solidarity

"Europe has to decide what kind of Union it wants to be. A union of solidarity or only a Single Market. Tomorrow’s summit will give an answer to this question”, said Esteban González Pons MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group, ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the EU Heads of State and Government.

"The EPP Group calls on the summit to create recovery bonds to finance the reconstruction of the European economy. Backed by the long-term EU budget, the European Commission should ask for the necessary money from the markets so that we don’t need to increase the national debt of any country”, explained González Pons.

He also called for a coordinated exit strategy. “Faced with a single problem, the European Member States have given 27 different responses, as if the virus stopped at each border. We now expect better coordination from the Member States. Everything we did wrong in the past, we need to do right in the future", he continued.

"The European Parliament made an effort to reach an agreement last week, voting in favour of recovery bonds. We now expect the Member States to make the same effort. We need a gesture from the Member States, symbolising that European solidarity is real", concluded González Pons, recalling that the EPP Group proposed a Solidarity Pact for the recovery and reconstruction of the EU economy.