Markets lifted by EU recovery deal and Covid-19 vaccine hopes – business live

Markets lifted by EU recovery deal and Covid-19 vaccine hopes – business live

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis interact during a roundtable discussion today Photograph: Reuters

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Stock markets are pushing higher this morning after the EU agreed a landmark deal on a Covid-19 recovery fund.

After the longest summit in 20 years, Europe's leaders finally signed off on the €750bn package to help protect and rebuilt economies hurt by the pandemic.

Crucially, it includes a €390bn programme of grants for the member states hit hardest. That's below the €500bn package originally proposed by Berlin and Paris in May - but still a very important moment.

EU leaders, even the 'frugal' Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, have agreed that the bloc can borrow collectively to fund the recovery.

Leaders also signed off on the EU's next seven-year budget, which will be worth €1.074tn.

EC president Charles Michel has said the negotiations (which began back on Friday morning), were difficult, but ultimately successful.



This is a good deal, a strong deal, the right deal for Europeans now. I believe this