EU stimulus designed to support single market: executive chief

By Reuters On Jun 19, 2020

FILE PHOTO: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses the Plenary of the European Parliament on a new proposal for the EU's joint 2021-27 budget and an accompanying Recovery Instrument to kickstart economic activity in the bloc ravaged by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium, May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A key aim of the EU’s multi-billion euro stimulus package is to prevent a widening of economic differences in bloc, which would weaken the EU’s internal market, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

“We want to prevent the unleveling of the playing field, we want to prevent the widening of the divergences between member states, which would be a weakening of the single market,” she told a news conference after a virtual meeting of EU leaders.

“So the opposite should be the aim of our action and therefore it’s in each member state’s interest to have a strong single market, a strong European Union because we all benefit from that.”