PARIS (Reuters) – Europe’s recovery plan should be ready to kick in in the second half of the year and not drag on until December or later, European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Wednesday.
In an interview with French newspaper Les Echos, Gentiloni, a former Italian foreign minister, said the recovery plan, which EU leaders are still discussing, will be formed of a mix of grants and loans to the hardest-hit countries.
“In my view, this recovery strategy should start in the second half of 2020, and not in December. It is urgent,” Gentiloni was quoted as saying. “Waiting for a year is out of the question,” he added.
(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Chris Reese)
