Reuters reports that negotiations towards the European Union's coronavirus recovery fund still have a long way to go before a summit of EU leaders later this month, a senior EU official involved in the talks said on Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said negotiators aimed to keep the size of the proposed 750 billion euro ($846.75 billion) recovery fund but to reduce the size of the EU's multi-year budget slightly.

European Council President Charles Michel will propose a budget for 2021-to 2027 of between 1.05 billion euros and 1.94 billion euros, the official said.