Nick Schifrin:

Today, European Union leaders agreed to create a massive recovery fund to try and help economies that have been devastated by COVID-19.

And individual countries are beginning to open up.

In Germany, some schools have started again. In Denmark, hairdressers reopened. And in Slovakia, you can go to flower shops and bookstores, although there aren't many customers.

But much of the European Union remains closed. And the bloc confronts a fundamental challenge, as each country decides when to open up and how to keep its citizens safe.

And so, to talk about this, I'm joined by the European Union's ambassador to Washington, Stavros Lambrinidis.

Ambassador, thank you very much. Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Washington, D.C., and individual states in the U.S. are confronting the same challenge. How do you coordinate from Brussels when countries open up?