EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put forward its major EU recovery plan on the 27th of May 2020, proposing to create a new recovery instrument called « Next Generation EU« , embedded within a revamped long-term EU budget. Next Generation EU proposes €750 billion of extra credits, using Commission credit rating to borrow on the financial markets – a first version of Eurobonds – as well as targeted reinforcements to the long-term EU budget for 2021-2027, bringing total financial firepower of the EU budget to €1.85 trillion.

Greentervention welcomes the €750 bn “Next Generation EU” plan proposed by the Commission. It rightly prioritizes investment over inaction, solidarity over selfishness. It may also provoke the shift on the conduct of fiscal policies required to fight climate change, protect our environment and the biodiversity, as advocated by Greentervention.

Greentervention will continue to make constructive proposals to ensure that

1) The European Semester – the process coordinating economic policies in the European Union – become an effective instrument to incentivize Member States to conduct transformative, forward looking economic policies supportive of the socio-ecological transformation we aim for;

2) Fiscal rules under the Stability Pact, while for the moment only suspended, are profoundly reformed to take account of Green Deal priorities and the new economic context before they come again into force;

3) Beyond and on top of the “Next Generation EU” plan,  joint financing of urgently needed investments of common European interest becomes the norm to strengthen the economic and social cohesion of the Union, fight climate change and protect the biodiversity.

Greentervention also notes that the proposed plan now has to be approved by the member states, including the infamous frugal four, and will stay alert about the development of the plan and the negotiations in the coming days.

The full details of the Next Generation EU plan is available in the Commission Press release here