Mark Rutte is said to make it "very clear" no new EU debt should be considered until previous funds have been spent (Photo: NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

The Netherlands really doesn't want new joint debt

Green Economy

by Wester van Gaal, Brussels,

Europe's 27 leaders will meet today in Brussels to discuss how to respond to the fallout of the Ukraine war.

New pandemic-type EU borrowing to help less wealthy countries deal with the energy crisis is also said to be part of these talks.

But both Germany and the Netherlands are vehemently opposed to such a tool. According to a senior EU diplomat, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte will make it "very clear" that unspent money from the €750bn pandemic recovery fund should be spent fi...

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Green Economy

Author Bio

Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.

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Mark Rutte is said to make it "very clear" no new EU debt should be considered until previous funds have been spent (Photo: NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization)