After four days and nights of intense negotiations, leaders of the 27 Member states of the European Union (EU) agreed early Wednesday on a fiscal stimulus package to combat the effects of coVID-19 and revive the European economy.

[The "North-south" quarrel]

The summit, which began Thursday at the EU headquarters in Brussels, was scheduled to end in two days and eventually take more than 90 hours. Delegates at the meeting exhausted their efforts to overcome the differences between the positions of different member states, especially the "north and South" countries of the EU, and finally reached an agreement.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, was charged with coordinating the positions of the 27 governments to end what he called "difficult negotiations at a very difficult time for all Europeans". He calls it a "marathon in which all 27 members win, but the people benefit more".

The compromise was reached thanks to the "strong backing" of Germany and France, AGence France-Presse reported. The package includes the EU's unprecedented loan programme based on the principle of "common borrowing", which requires member states to "share the debt". Germany, long a fiscally prudent country, was opposed to "debt pooling" for fear of increasing the fiscal burden on rich countries before changing its position. The five "thrifty" countries - Denmark, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and Finland - resisted, stalling the agenda halfway through. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel left the meeting at one point.

According to previous media reports, Macron even "clenched his fist" and railed against the "frugal state" for blocking the agenda. According to AGence France-Presse, the final approval was a "special victory" for Macron, who has been preaching greater EU integration since taking office in 2017 but has struggled to convince Germany and the Nordic countries, which are net contributors.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Macron said the outcome of the summit represents a "historic change in Europe." Speaking alongside him, Ms. Merkel said she was gratified that the European Union was finally showing its commitment to dealing with 'the biggest crisis in history.'

[Reach a compromise]

According to the plan, €750 billion of aid will include €390 billion of grants to affected countries, less than the €500 billion initially proposed by France and Germany. Another €360bn is in the form of loans.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the worst-hit countries with high debts, hailed the deal as a "European Marshall Plan" that is expected to provide €140 billion for Spain's economic development over the next six years.

During the meeting, the "frugal countries" led by the Netherlands fiercely opposed the original plan and advocated a sharp reduction in the share of grant grants. Ahead of the talks, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, warned that projects such as "rich countries giving to poor countries" would turn the EU into a "transfer union" in which "wealth is transferred from north to south".

"This is for once," Rutte told reporters after the compromise was reached. "It is clearly necessary under the circumstances."

The "thrifty countries" also said in the negotiations that they wanted to limit the south's fiscal authority to handle public spending. The package therefore imposes strict conditions on aid payments, requiring governments that claim aid must be tightly controlled and used in areas that meet the EU's "priority objectives" of economic governance and environmental policy reform. The European Commission will be responsible for reviewing the disbursement of aid, which can be overturned if a majority of the 27 member states oppose it.

That could put pressure on Italy and Spain. Greece, Portugal and Ireland accepted "austerity" conditions in the face of sovereign debt crises to get bailouts.

To persuade thrifty countries to accept, the EU has also agreed to return large "contributions" to these net contributors. Britain was treated this way decades ago.

The EU hopes to set up a so-called "recovery fund" to complement the unprecedented monetary stimulus package launched by the European Central Bank to revive the stricken eurozone economy. The EU economy is expected to shrink 8.3 percent this year.

The summit also approved a budget for the next seven years, worth €1.8 trillion, in a similarly fraught negotiation. Hungary and Poland, whose judicial systems have been challenged as "incompatible with the rule of law", have proposed "tying" eu budget payments to such demands, but the demands have been "diluted".

The "recovery fund" and the general budget plan agreed on Friday are subject to further negotiations among member states on technical details before being approved by the European Parliament.