BRUSSELS — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday said that European Union countries are still divided over a proposed recovery plan from the coronavirus pandemic and called for a bigger compromise.

“Differences are still very big and therefore I cannot say if this time we will come to any results,” she said in an online statement ahead of an extraordinary EU summit here.

She called for “bigger compromises from all sides”, and added that she expects negotiations at the two-day EU summit to be difficult.

Germany currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency. EU leaders are meeting physically in Brussels to discuss the recovery plan to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and a new long-term EU budget.

For his part, France President Emmanuel Macron said on arrival here, “This is a moment of truth and ambition for Europe.”

He recalled that France and Germany built an agreement on May 18 and said it served as a basis for the European Commission’s relaunch plan proposal.

“The coming hours are absolutely decisive to reach this ambition, to be able to reach a commitment in order for this recovery plan and this European budget to allow us to build the European economy,” he added.

Meanwhile, European Council President Charles Michel said the summit of EU leaders will be difficult, but expressed his conviction that an agreement could be reached with political courage.

“It will be the first physical summit since the beginning of the (coronavirus) crisis,” he said in an online statement.

“We have worked very hard in order to prepare for this summit. I know it will be very difficult because it is not only about money, it’s about people, about European future, and bout our unity,” he added.

“Even if it is difficult, I am convinced that with political courage it’s possible to reach an agreement,” he stated.

The European Commission has proposed a recovery package called next Generation EU, which amounts to 750 billion euro ($853 billion). The long term EU budget for 2021-2027 amounts to 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion).

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the people of Europe expect from the meeting of EU leaders a solution to overcome the coronavirus crisis.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher. If we do it right we can overcome the crisis, and emerge stronger from the crisis. All the necessary pieces are on the table and a solution is possible,” she said in an online statement.

“And a solution is what the people of Europe expect from us because it is their job that is at stake and at risk if the virus still persists, and the whole world is watching us whether Europe is able to stand up united and are able to overcome this crisis strongly,” she said. — KUNA