EU's von der Leyen: Essential that we lose no time in setting up recovery plan

"The first discussion of EU leaders on the recovery plan and the next EU budget was very positive," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference on Friday.

Additional takeaways

"It's essential that we lose no time in setting up the recovery plan."

"Many leaders stress that we should reach an agreement soon, before August."

"There was a lot of focus on the green and digital transformation of the EU economy."

"Overall size, the balance of grants and loans and allocation key, rebates and own resources were controversial."

Market reaction

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index edged higher after these comments and was last seen gaining 1.5% on the day at 3,300 points.