The EU’s 500 billion euro coronavirus bailout plan could be a big step towards a federal Europe

France and Germany have proposed a massive EU rescue plan worth 500 billion euros to fund the bloc’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.  The plan would represent a huge outright transfer of money from richer countries in northern Europe to poorer ones, and the funds would not need to be repaid.  It could reshape the future of Europe, representing a centralisation of Brussels power which some member states have long been pushing for, and which others remain deeply sceptical of. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Standing alone, with Emmanuel Macron beamed in beside her on television,