Why Europe’s Pandemic Recovery Deal Is a Big Deal

When Italy and Spain became early pandemic hot spots in March, it looked like the virus might claim another victim: the cohesion of the European Union. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Covid-19 outbreak represented the most serious existential threat the EU had ever faced. The risk was that the political bloc’s 27 nations, seeking a united response to the deepest recession in generations, would be torn apart by old divisions — notably between richer northern nations and the southern coun