European Union leaders reached a deal on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-blighted economies at a pre-dawn meeting on Tuesday after a fractious summit that went through the night and into its fifth day.
Summit chairman Charles Michel tweeted "Deal" shortly after the 27 leaders reached agreement at a 5.15 am (0315 GMT) plenary session.
"This agreement sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action," Mr Michel said at a dawn news conference
"It is about a lot more than money. It is about workers and families, their jobs, their health and their well-being. I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe's journey, but it will also launch us into the future."
French President Emmanuel Macron said the deal was truly historic and that he was convinced the recovery plan and budget could meet the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Macron said the deal followed long and difficult negotiations, during which concessions had to be made to win over member states whose objections were blocking a deal.
But the concessions were proportionate, and necessary to deliver a recovery plan big enough to be effective, he added.
"There is no such thing as a perfect world, but we have made progress," Mr Macron told a news briefing.
Deal!
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) July 21, 2020
"This is an important signal beyond Europe's borders that the EU, even with all the (EU member states') varying backgrounds, is able to take action," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters during a joint news conference with Mr Macron.
Just shy of being the longest EU summit in history, the 27 leaders all huddled back in the main room of the Europa center and bumped elbows and made jokes before giving the package the final approval.
Officials said the deal, which came after Mr Michel presented compromises on a €750 billion (£677.5 billion) recovery fund, is critical to dispel doubts about the bloc's very future.
Mr Michel proposed that within the €750 billion fund, 390 billion should be non-repayable grants, down from 500 billion originally proposed, and the rest in repayable loans.
The EU was slow to coordinate its initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic and, already weakened by Britain's departure from the bloc, a united front on economic aid would demonstrate that it can step up to a crisis and stay united.
"It has been a long summit and a challenging summit but the prize is worth negotiating for," Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said as the Brussels summit approached the record length set at a 2000 meeting in the French city of Nice of almost five full days.
European nations have done a better job of containing the coronavirus than the United States after a devastating early few months that hit Italy and Spain particularly hard, collaborating on medical, travel and economic fronts.
The European Central Bank has pumped unparalleled money into economies to keep them going, while capitals hammer out their recovery fund.
Diplomats said the leaders appeared to put aside the rancour that stood in the way of a compromise over hours of haggling through the weekend.
