The EU's €672.5 billion ($815.1bn) Covid recovery package is "more than enough" and must not be repeated, to ensure the bloc is not overburdened with debt, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.
Mr Kurz said the supposedly more "frugal" EU member states, including Austria, appreciated the need for the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with the Austrian leader saying he believed it would be enough to kick-start the bloc's economies.
Under the facility, the European Commission will make billions available to member states to support reform and investment. Each country must submit a national recovery plan that details how they will use the funding, which collectively is made up of up €312.5bn in grants and €360bn in loans.
Each national proposal must ensure at least 37 per cent of the money is used to support climate efforts and at least 20 per cent must help the digital transition.
All EU member states have since backed the Commission’s recovery plan, but there was some initial resistance from the "frugal four" of Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.
“I think that it will be enough and I would also say it has to be enough,” Mr Kurz told the Globalsec 2021 Bratislava Forum.
“Austria and other countries in the European Union, the so-called ‘frugal’ countries, were quite sceptical about the recovery fund at the beginning. We agreed in the end because we think that the package is good. We think the decision was good and we think that it was necessary to invest a lot of money to kick-start the economy.
“But we would have not agreed to a permanent debt union and we do not want to repeat it several times. We think that it was a tool necessary at this time, but nothing we should repeat quite often,” Mr Kurz said.
Funds from the facility are set to be made available very soon, as the plans of each member states are scrutinised.
“Yes, I think it is more than enough. It is OK that we did it, but it is more than enough and now we should not discuss if we need more. We should focus more on the debate [about] where to invest.”
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
