EU proposes more forgiving debt plans a decade after crisis

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is considering more lenient economic recovery proposals that veer away from the grinding, top-down austerity rules that hit Greece and other countries during the financial and debt crises a decade ago. That helped push millions into poverty, homelessness and unemployment. The European Commission said Wednesday that the new plans would give member states with serious debt issues greater leeway in seeking a viable path to economic sustainability. The plans would combine commitment to longer-term debt reduction while not excessively burdening a stretched population over too short a time. After the 27-nation bloc had to spend its way out of a COVID-19 recession and as another downturn looms, the challenge is keeping investment high and debt levels manageable.