Efe
MADRID – WEDNESDAY, 03/25/2020
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, explained that the purchase of medical equipment has been closed and the needs raised have been met, so that Spain and the other EU states will be able to access this material and distribute it among their hospitals.
New Marshall Plan
In an interview for ‘El País’, Ursula von der Leyen (Brussels, 1958), a training doctor, applauds the proposal of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to address a new Marshall Plan in the face of the coronavirus crisis and expresses his solidarity with Spaniards and admiration for the response of citizens: “They are a model for Europe. Spain is not alone.”
Summit this Thursday
When it turns 100 days in the presidency of the EC and on the eve of the European summit this Thursday, in which the 27 are expected to agree on a common response to the economic crisis, Von der Leyen highlights the strength of the unit and points that in the European budget there is an investment initiative for the coronavirus, which will inject 11,000 million euros into the Spanish economy, and another initiative to finance vaccine research, “something that no country could afford to finance on its own”.
“From this crisis, we will learn that the EU does not only have to be united, but also be more resistant,” he concluded.
“Spain desperately needs protective equipment, such as masks or gloves. And in this area I have good news. The joint tender that we have organized to buy material with 25 member states, including Spain, has covered all the needs raised, and even we have obtained more material than we needed. So Spain, like other States, can now access the quantity of material that it had requested and will be able to distribute it in hospitals, “she announces”.
In the economic field, it ensures that the EU has relaxed public aid rules and will allow the Spanish Government to authorize measures worth up to 20,000 million euros, which will support small and medium-sized companies and self-employed workers.
Add comment