“1 January 2021 is a very ambitious date to put in place the recovery instrument, and in the meantime we must continue to make full use of the resources included in the current EU budget”, said the Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova, Wednesday 29 April.
At its weekly meeting, the College of European Commissioners held a policy debate on the EU’s post-2020 budget which will feed into the recovery plan for Europe.
The Commission is expected to make proposals by mid-May on the post-pandemic recovery plan and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021-2027 which needs to be reoriented to address the coming socio-economic crisis (see EUROPE 12474/1, 12473/1).
At a press conference, Ms Jourova confirmed the Commission’s intentions to include a combination of grants and loans under the new MFF as one of the measures to revive the economy after the Covid-19 crisis.
The College reiterated the need to find “an appropriate balance” between “loans, grants and financial guarantees” and to provide financial support before the new MFF comes into effect. “An emergency instrument will reinforce the financial strength of the budget” by mobilising additional funds on the markets for Member States in the framework of the 2021-2027 MFF, she added. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)