The European Parliament is set to adopt a joint motion for a resolution on Thursday 16 April detailing its vision for EU action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its health, economic and social consequences, although not without some disunity between political groups (see EUROPE 12463/2).
While the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA groups in Parliament finally agreed on a final text, negotiations on Tuesday 14 April were difficult, with the ECR and GUE/NGL groups even going so far as to leave the table, the former for the explicit mention of the Polish case in the light of respect for the rule of law, the latter for lack of ambition on the economic and social chapter. To the great displeasure of the GUE/NGL, the resolution does not mention the possibility of suspending the Stability and Growth Pact in the long term or a possible contribution from the ECB.
One point that was reportedly problematic during the discussions concerns the issue of debt pooling (‘coronabonds’). In this regard, the motion for a resolution says that the economic recovery plan should be financed by “cost recovery guaranteed by the EU budget”, while ruling out the possibility of pooling existing debt.
Another source of disagreement was the role of the Green Deal in the recovery plan. Finally, it has been stated that “the Green Deal and digital transformation should be at the heart” of the recovery plan.
As regards the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) on which the Eurogroup agreed (see EUROPE 12465/2) after difficult discussions, the resolution calls on the euro-area Member States to activate it, but without mentioning any conditions.
On the role of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the resolution calls on Member States to “agree quickly on a major injection” and supports the creation of a new credit line to guarantee liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Still on the economic aspect, it is interesting to note that the reference to the creation of an EU solidarity fund against coronavirus, which appeared in an earlier version of the resolution, has not been maintained in the version supported by the four groups.
As for the ‘SURE’ instrument for financial support for national part-time work schemes (see EUROPE 12460/1), the text does not mention the permanent instrument for an unemployment reinsurance benefit scheme planned for the end of the year.
An unprecedented and complex plenary session
The plenary session will be much more complex than the first “dematerialised” plenary session (see EUROPE 12454/2). Ten texts will be put to the vote, in addition to the resolution, namely the various draft amending budgets, the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII+), amendments to the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
The draft amending budgets include a variety of measures which are not always directly linked to the COVID-19 crisis, such as financial support for Greece to cope with migratory flows, aid for Albania in the context of the earthquake at the end of 2019 and other budgetary adjustments by EU bodies. MEPs will also vote on the various texts related to the activation of EU emergency support.
The procedure remains the same as in the previous plenary session: MEPs will be invited in the morning to vote on urgency procedure on the various plenary texts, before voting on the texts themselves.
The urgency procedure is reportedly secured for all texts. The voting procedure may potentially extend until Friday 17 April, with a possible fourth voting session envisaged which would end at 10:30 p.m. Tallying votes is promising to be a long and tedious process. The modalities did not seem to be fully settled yet.
To consult the previous resolution before the discussion on Tuesday 14 April: https://bit.ly/3ehSUmC
To see the resolution supported by the main political groups: https://bit.ly/3elud8a (Original version in French by Damien Genicot, Pascal Hansens and Lionel Changeur)