Europe's longtime powers unite behind EU's COVID-19 rescue package

John Springford, deputy director for the London-based Centre for European Reform policy institute, is similarly skeptical.

“There’s a realization she’s nearing the end of her term and wants to have been a chancellor that has made Europe stronger,” Springford said of Merkel.

“And so, there’s a kind of happy marriage of interests now between her and Macron," he added of the rescue fund, "which is why we’ve ended up with something that’s actually pretty ambitious.”