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Macron, Mitsotakis Urge EU Pandemic Debt Delay, Merz Opposes

4/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for postponing repayment of the EU’s pandemic recovery debt and for issuing new EU bonds.
They called immediate pay-back “idiotic,” urged a spread-out schedule and noted the EU will start repaying €25 billion a year from 2028.
They highlighted the €1.8 trillion 2028-2034 EU budget as the financing framework, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opposed additional EU debt.

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Story summary

French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for postponing repayment of the EU’s pandemic recovery debt and for issuing new EU bonds.
They called immediate pay-back “idiotic,” urged a spread-out schedule and noted the EU will start repaying €25 billion a year from 2028.
They highlighted the €1.8 trillion 2028-2034 EU budget as the financing framework, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opposed additional EU debt.