EU leaders have finally reached a deal on a huge post-COVID economic recovery package following a fourth night of talks.
The historic agreement on a €750 billion coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic recovery fund and long-term spending plans was reached following days of drawn-out debate.
The summit began in Brussels on Friday morning and saw more than 90 hours of talks.
It became the EU’s longest summit since a 2000 meeting in the French city of Nice, which lasted for five days, and as the meeting reached its fifth day, the 27 exhausted heads of state and government finally gave their seal of approval to a plan for the EU to jointly borrow debt to be disbursed through grants on an unprecedented scale.
The deal was sealed by EU President Charles Michel with a simple one-word Tweet in the early hours of this morning.
Tempers were said to have often frayed over the course of the long weekend of negotiation talks.
The agreement is the biggest joint-borrowing ever agreed by the EU and finally came after member states were largely split between those hit hardest by the outbreak and keen to revive their economies, and those more concerned about the costs of the recovery plan.
Summit chairman Charles Michel said it was a “pivotal moment” for Europe.
The deal centres on a €390 billion programme of grants to member states hardest hit by the pandemic – of which Italy and Spain are expected to be the main recipients – and a further €360 billion in low-interest loans will be available to members of the bloc.
It has been agreed that the European Commission will borrow the €750 billion on international markets and distribute the aid, and there will also be a means by which member states can reject a spending plan in the future.
The deal was reached alongside agreement on the bloc’s next seven-year budget, which is said to be worth about €1.1 trillion.
We did it! We have reached a deal on the recovery package and the European budget for 2021-2027.
The agreed recovery package will now face more technical negotiations by member states, and will need ratification by the European Parliament.
This is to be conducted in due course.
#StaySafeSaveLives
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Northern is offering Greater Manchester students half-price train tickets for the entire academic year
Emily Sergeant
School students in Greater Manchester are to be offered 50% off their train tickets for the entire upcoming academic year.
Now that schools are out for the summer, train operator Northern is encouraging parents and guardians of schoolchildren who use the train to get to and from school to take advantage an early bird discount giving them 50% off tickets for the coming academic year.
The operator hopes that the discount will convince parents of children aged under 16 to ‘trust the train’ for their school run.
The half-price child season ticket for the 2025-26 academic year is available until 11:59pm this Thursday (31 July).
Season tickets for those under 16, and Year 11 students, that are purchased after this date will only be 40% off the normal child season ticket price, and term time tickets are to also become available from this date too.
Northern is offering Greater Manchester students half-price train tickets for the entire academic year / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | TPE
Any season tickets purchased will be delivered in time for the new school term in September.
The 50% off offer comes as Northern teams up with TransPennine Express to offer school children maximum flexibility – with education season tickets now valid on both operator’s services on a number of routes across the North.
“As we continue in our mission to make our railway accessible and as easy to use as possible, annual education season tickets are there to offer the best value for journeys to school and college,” commented Alex Hornby, who is the Commercial and Customer Director for Northern.
“We’re encouraging parents and guardians to take advantage of even bigger savings now before of the end of July, where the discounts available will reduce.
“Locking-in this earlybird discount with a season ticket not only saves a lot of money; it ticks one more thing off the back to school list and it means no more faffing around with day or weekly tickets too.”
Find more information and take advantage of the Education Season Tickets offer here.
Featured Image – Jonny Walton (via Northern)
News
More than 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs to finally be taken down across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A saga is finally coming to an end… the saga of Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone, that is.
The Clean Air Zone was to initially hand motorists daily charges of up to £60 for some of the most polluting vehicles on Greater Manchester‘s roads.
The Government agreed to delay the deadline for the scheme until 2026, but local leaders wanted to scrap all charges and help to fund vehicle upgrades instead.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) then set out evidence supporting an investment-led, and, crucially for residents and motorists, a non-charging Clean Air Plan back in June 2022 – which it said was ‘the best solution’ to address the roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) problem.
More than 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs to finally be taken down across Greater Manchester / Credit: The Manc Group | Flickr
And then, back in January of this year, it was confirmed that Greater Manchester’s plan for the introduction of a non-charging clean air zone had been backed by the Government.
More than 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs were installed across Greater Manchester at the start of the controversial scheme being initially proposed, as well as a total of 407 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
But while it was initially thought that this technology may go to waste, it was revealed in March 2023 that they were actually being used for an entirely different reason all together – detecting crime.
While the cameras are intended to stay in place and in use, the more than 1,000 signs are to be taken down.
“We’ve always been focused on doing what’s right for Greater Manchester, and by accelerating investment in our public transport network, we’re showing that it’s possible to improve air quality faster than if a charging Clean Air Zone had been introduced,” commented Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, who is the Clean Air lead for Greater Manchester.
“As we deliver our Clean Air Plan alongside the Bee Network, with support from the Government, we’ll roll out the UK’s first fully integrated, zero-emission public transport system by the end of the decade and improve the air we all breathe for generations to come.”
The Manc -
21st July 2020 
