The leaders of Spain and Portugal are pressing for the European Union to clinch a deal

The leaders of Spain and Portugal are pressing for the European Union to clinch a deal by the end of this month on a recovery fund to help its 27 member countries weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told a joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in Lisbon in Portugal that “It´s crucial that all EU leaders recognise that the month of July has to be the month they get an agreement.”

Southern European countries are mounting a show of strength as negotiations over how much money they get from the EU, and in what form, comes to a crunch.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is also due in Lisbon, today, and in Madrid tomorrow.