The leaders of the European Union have held their first face-to-face summit in five months, but the reunion seems unlikely to bridge their divide over a post-virus economic rescue plan, AFP reported.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and her 26 colleagues returned to Brussels to see whether in-person negotiations can answer a 750-billion-euro question.

Arriving at the European Council, France's President Emmanuel Macron described it as a “moment of truth”.

“We are going through an unprecedented crisis, on the health but also the social level. We need much more solidarity and ambition,” he said. Merkel and Macron are backing a recovery package made up of a mixture of loans and grants to member states to revive economies shattered by the virus and preventive lockdowns.