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'The stakes couldn't be higher': EU recovery plan summit under way

European Union leaders take part in the first face-to-face EU summit since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2020. [Photo:REUTERS]

European Union leaders met on Friday for tense summit talks on a multi-billion-euro plan to breathe life into their economies, their first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus pandemic plunged the bloc into its latest crisis.

The 27 leaders, all masked up, greeted each other with elbow bumps rather than their customary cheek kisses and handshakes, and there were birthday gifts for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

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