The S&D group in the European Parliament, on Wednesday 6 May, presented its ideas for a European recovery plan to address the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. It defends the Spanish idea of a European Recovery Plan which includes a European Fund of at least €1.5 trillion.
In March, this group presented a 15-point action plan to respond to the crisis. The European Parliament will debate next week the recovery plan and the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) (see EUROPE 12480/3).
The president of the group, Iratxe García, said: “By fully aligning recovery policies with the European Green Deal, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we can encourage radical change, make Europe more resilient to future crises and build a fair and sustainable society”.
Subsidies. The S&D group is calling for a “temporary European economic and social stimulus package”, including an updated MFF and a “European Fund of at least €1.5 trillion”.
“This stimulus should be largely financed by an equivalent public debt increase and by grants channelled through common European instruments, such as Cohesion Policy”, the S&D group said.
This stimulus package, in the form of a comprehensive Recovery Plan, should, according to the group, be backed by the creation of “first-generation Recovery Bonds” (with perpetual or very long maturities), guaranteed by a purchase programme of the European Central Bank.
According to the group, support measures must be "fair, transparent and fully in line with the Union's climate and environmental objectives".
It also emphasises that the EU and Member States must fight the surge in unemployment, inequalities, regional differences, poverty and social exclusion during the pandemic.
The group calls for a “far-reaching European social recovery” and believes that digital and industrial strategies “need to draw the lessons from this crisis”.
To consult the S&D recovery plan: https://bit.ly/3dfDoFI (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)