Faced with economic recession and deep strains in the European Union over the coronavirus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday agreed to what would amount to collective European debt to help those countries hit hardest by the pandemic.
Ms. Merkel joined with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to propose a 500 billion euro ($545 billion) recovery fund, financed by the European Union and repaid through the collective Brussels budget, to help European regions and economic sectors battered by the coronavirus.
The proposal must be agreed to by the other 25 member states of the bloc, some of which have also rejected collective indebtedness in the past....
