EU Aims to Back Struggling South With Fiscal Shock and Awe (3)

The European Commission unveiled an unprecedented stimulus plan to tackle the worst recession in living memory and underwrite struggling Italy’s membership of the 27-nation bloc.

The government in Rome stands to receive 82 billion euros ($90 billion) in emergency grants and up to 91 billion euros in low-interest loans from the package that could be worth as much as 750 billion euros in total, according to an official who asked not to be named. The program, which still needs to win the backing of member states, would be funded by joint debt issuance in a significant step toward closer financial ...