Jonathan Packroff

The Polish candidate also sought to reassure regional and local governments, currently worried about losing out from EU spending reforms.

Germany’s government coalition is bracing for a showdown one day after American elections

French official says the country "will propose some measures in the next few weeks to sustain demand.”

“I find the distinction between ‘old or new' completely artificial: there are only European needs and priorities,” Serafin wrote in his responses to the European Parliament ahead of the hearing.

Regional governments “know best what reforms and investments they need,” Serafin said, promising not to repeat mistakes of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The option for new EU funds seems to stand a better chance in light of the second big development of the week: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz firing his Finance Minister Christian Lindner – a staunch fiscal hawk.

“He won’t represent the interests of the French government, as you know," a French official reassured Brussels.

“It's not about where a company comes from,” the French centrist told MEPs. “It's about whether it contributes to European wealth."

“Only the first 20 articles of our Basic Law are unchangeable, everything else can of course be discussed," said Merz.

"France must urgently reconsider its position and hopefully come to an agreement,” said German Social Democrat Markus Töns.