Renew Europe MEPs Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium) and Luis Garicano (Spain) believe that the proposal in the pipeline to set up a recovery fund to revive the European economy paralysed by COVID-19 (see EUROPE 12474/1) is certainly a step forward, as it focuses on the Community method, which gives the European Parliament a budgetary surveillance role.
However, in their view, this proposal could go even further, in particular on the modalities of aid granted to Member States and the issue of own resources in the EU budget.
Every crisis, however serious it may be from a health and economic point of view, is “a great opportunity” to advance Europe’s priorities by investing massively in the European Green Deal and the digitisation of the economy, Mr Verhofstadt considered on Friday 24 April during an online debate organised by the European Liberal Forum following a European summit which set a framework for the Commission’s work (see EUROPE 12473/1).
Mr Garicano detailed a proposal for a Recovery Fund prepared in collaboration with the former Belgian Prime Minister and based on three pillars: - issue perpetual debt of which only the interest would be repaid; - strengthen the own resources system of the EU budget through the creation of European taxes on the digital economy and plastic pollution (26 billion could be raised); - only grant subsidies to Member States (basing the future fund on Article 122.1 of the TFEU Treaty) so as not to put further strain on their public finances.
For Mr Verhofstadt, this proposal fits perfectly into the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Recalling having been on the Board of the largest Dutch pension fund, he said that institutional investors are looking for secure, long-term investments at the European level.
The Liberal MEP also said that he could not understand why the frugal Member States are reluctant to agree to increase the own resources in the EU budget. “The only alternative is to increase national contributions!” he remarked. And argued that national contributions, which “pollute” the MFF negotiations, are a legacy of the “British rebate”.
See the proposal by Mr Verhofstadt and Mr Garicano: https://bit.ly/2VyPTGn (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)