European shares fell today 22/6/2020 as signs of a resurgence in coronavirus cases in Germany and elsewhere unnerved investors who were hoping for a swift economic recovery from the crisis.

European Union leaders are aiming to agree on a coronavirus-crisis recovery plan worth hundreds of billions of euros by the end of July, they said Friday after a videoconference, but strong differences remain over how to craft the package.

The bloc’s leaders had their first serious discussion of the economic recovery plan and the multiyear budget proposed by the European Commission last month. The plan would see the Commission, the EU’s executive body, take the unprecedented step of borrowing hundreds of billions of euros from the markets to hand out to the worst-affected member states.

The €750 billion ($840.3 billion) recovery plan and €1.1 trillion proposed budget package would kick in from next year, but would allow hard-hit countries in the EU’s south to step up spending now, knowing they won’t be saddled with huge new debts.