The European Commission is considering a 2 trillion euro plan to finance the recovery of the European economy after a deep recession that the coronavirus pandemic could cause this year, Reuters reported.

The commission wants to use the EU’s next long-term budget for 2021-2027 and a new fund called Recovery Instrument to stimulate growth, the document says.

The European Commission proposes to borrow EUR 320 billion on the market, and then lend about half this amount to the governments of the EU member states.

According to the plan, the rest of the borrowing would be part of the EU long-term budget and be repaid by EU governments after 2027 over a long time or be paid back through future additional income to the EU budget, like new EU taxes for instance.

Part of the funds may be provided to EU member states as grants.

EU leaders can approve the legal documents for the plan in June so that Recovery Instrument can immediately work. The new long-term budget of the EU will begin to operate on January 1, 2021.

EU leaders will hold a videoconference later on Thursday, but are not expected to make any final decisions on exactly how to finance the economic recovery after the coronavirus epidemic, diplomats and officials told Reuters earlier this week.