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EU to meet face-to-face at summit to carve up $2.1 trillion

Raf Casert

Associated Press

Tags: Lung disease, Business, conditions, Government, Coronavirus, Health, Emmanuel Macron, Diseases, politics, Infectious diseases, Angela Merkel
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A member of security stands in a meeting room especially adapted to adhere to physical distance guidelines for EU leaders for an upcoming EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. Sign on door reads 'stay 1.5 meters apart, distance makes the heart grow fonder'. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - In this Tuesday, May 26, 2020 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron wears a face mask as he visits the Valeo manufacturer plant, in Etaples, northern France. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this Monday, July 13, 2020 file photo, Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, left, and Croatia's Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, right, greet each other with an elbow bump during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye.(Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 file photo, European Union leaders pose for a group photo during an EU summit in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
Signs are placed onto seats, to keep a physical distance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in the main press room at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. On Friday, July 17, 2020, leaders from the 27 European Union nations will meet face-to-face to try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. Due to coronavirus concerns, Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
In house camera's and a microphone are set up at the arrivals area for EU leaders at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. On Friday, July 17, 2020, leaders from the 27 European Union nations will meet face-to-face to try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. Due to coronavirus concerns, Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man pastes a sign showing where to go in a medical emergency at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. On Friday, July 17, 2020, leaders from the 27 European Union nations will meet face-to-face to try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. Due to coronavirus concerns, Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A sign on an elevator designated for EU leaders for an upcoming EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. Sign reads, 'take notice, not more than two persons allowed in the elevator at a time. Please take the next one that comes by'. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2020 file photo, European Union leaders meet at a round table during an EU summit in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE- In this Wednesday, July 8, 2020 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, walks under an umbrella as she leaves, after addressing a plenary session, at the European Parliament in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
A bottle of hand sanitizer stands next to an EU flag at the entrance to the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. On Friday, July 17, 2020, leaders from the 27 European Union nations will meet face-to-face to try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. Due to coronavirus concerns, Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 8, 2020 file photo, From left, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President David Sassoli pose for photographers prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this Monday, July 13, 2020 file photo, Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez, left, and Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zharieva, center, greet each other with an elbow bump during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, May 28, 2019 file photo, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks with the media on arrival to an EU summit in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 8, 2020 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, offers an elbow to gesture hello as she attends a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels. European Union leaders will meet face-to-face on Friday, July 17, 2020 for their summit as they try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros among themselves. In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high for attendees not to look one another in the eye. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)

A member of security stands in a meeting room especially adapted to adhere to physical distance guidelines for EU leaders for an upcoming EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Friday's summit will be held in a larger-than-usual meeting room to meet social distancing requirements, the media will be kept to a minimum and there will be no group photo of the leaders. Sign on door reads 'stay 1.5 meters apart, distance makes the heart grow fonder'. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP)

BRUSSELS – There are limits to videoconferencing: When there is a lot of money at stake, people like to look each other in the eye.

So on Friday, leaders from 27 European Union nations will be meeting face-to-face for the first since February — despite the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic — to try to carve up a potential package of 1.85 trillion euros ($2.1 trillion) among themselves, and, just as importantly, see who will pay in the most.

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In perhaps the first such major meeting of leaders since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, the stakes were just too high to maintain extreme social distancing.

“You can feel the mood, as it were," Germany's Europe minister, Michael Roth, said of such flesh-and-blood summits. “I wouldn't claim to be a psychologist, but I would say it really does help."

It better had, since five remote video summits so far this year failed to bridge the financial gap between rival nations needing to agree on a more than 1-trillion-euro budget for the next seven years and a 750-billion-euro fund to allow nations recover from the coronavirus crisis.

“It was already clear at Easter when I was calling, the first time, all the different capitals, that such a decision can only be taken if the leaders, prime ministers, heads of state, meet in person in Brussels," EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said.

French President Emmanuel Macron is already sweeping into town late Thursday, eager to get as many encounters in as possible. German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to hold out until the official kickoff time early Friday.

Whatever happens, it will make for an EU summit unlike any other at the urn-shaped Europa headquarters.

For starters, the cozy meeting room on the top floor, where the leaders have clashed at close quarters over everything from Brexit to migration issues, will be exchanged for the prosaically-named meeting room EBS-5, where normally 330 people fit in a space of 850 square meters (9,150 square feet).

“They will be well spaced" when they go into a restricted session with barely a few delegates, deadpanned an EU official preparing the summit.

There will be no group photo of the leaders like at last December's summit because of social distancing requirements.

Often, the toughest of summits have so-called confessionals where the president of the proceedings takes one or more leaders to the side to see where they might budge. Other leaders can gather in mini-sessions to defend common regional or financial interests.

It's bound to happen again, but this time, every room which will be used at the summit center will be deep-cleaned. The main summit room will only use filtered, non-recycled air.

As soon as their vehicles pull up into driveway outside the Europa building, the leaders will immediately experience the difference, officials said. Most of their delegations will be split off immediately and parked in an adjacent building. And instead of a warren of microphones and cameras seeking early comment, they will have the option to make a comment to a neutral outlet, no questions asked.

The already byzantine map of the building has been redrawn to avoid unexpected crowds and certain elevators for the leaders will be limited to a maximum capacity of two.

At the start of a session, leaders will be urged to mask themselves and respect at least 1.5 meters of distance for the informal greetings, often a moment when body language gives away how tough a summit will be. Yet if Monday's trial run of foreign ministers was anything to go by, discipline was often lacking.

Should the worst happen and a leader suddenly shows symptoms, doctors will be on site once he or she is taken out of the room. A nation can't put in a replacement, and it can only ask a friendly colleague to vote or speak in its place.

So, even if it will be a true face-to-face meeting, it will be one laden with provisos.

“It doesn’t automatically mean that excellent results will be achieved and that agreement will be reached quickly," Roth said. “But after all, I am an optimist."

Others are already looking at an extended summit running even into Sunday, with another one possible within two weeks.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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