The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave some indications on what will be in the future European Recovery Plan that will accompany the amended proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2024, on Wednesday 13 May, during a debate in the European Parliament plenary session.
Even though the coronavirus is an external and symmetrical shock, Member States do not have the same budgetary capacity to react, so “we are starting to observe an un-levelling of the playing field in the single market”, she said, justifying the European institution's approach.
Mrs von der Leyen also tried to reassure MEPs that the European Parliament will fully play its role as budgetary authority. Thus, the EU Recovery Fund, which will be financed by debt issuance by the European Commission, “will be added” to the MFF and “all” of the funds raised will be channelled through the EU budget. In this way, MEPs will be able to monitor how European money is spent.
The President of the Commission said the recovery plan should serve the EU's strategic priorities through the climate and digital agendas. “If we have no choice but to go into debt, the least we can do is to invest in the future “, she said, calling for “not falling back into past mistakes”.
The future EU Recovery Fund should be based on three pillars. The first pillar, which will concentrate the largest envelope, will help all Member States to recover and to come out of the crisis stronger. Cohesion policy will benefit from additional resources “on top of the usual MFF envelope” von der Leyen promised.
Second pillar: kick-starting the economy via “private investment”. The future InvestEU programme, which will take over from the 'Juncker' investment plan (EUROPE 12239/13), will be strengthened. Above all, the Commission will propose a new facility for investment in strategic sectors, in particular pharmaceuticals, to relocate certain essential production facilities. And a new solvency instrument will prevent the bankruptcy of companies weakened by the paralysis of the economy.
The third pillar of the Recovery Fund will draw lessons from the crisis. The resources of the European Civil Protection Mechanism (ECCP) will be increased, as will those of the future Horizon Europe research programme and aid for pre-accession to the EU or to neighbouring countries. A new public health programme will also be launched.
However, Mrs von der Leyen did not say when the Commission would present its proposal or what amounts were envisaged. Nor did she say how the aid will be disbursed, between grants and repayable loans.
Several political groups welcomed the Commission's willingness to involve the European Parliament all the while criticising it for its silence on the introduction of own resources to feed the EU budget.
“For us, the most important thing is to fight for a democratic budget”, said EPP group leader Manfred Weber, who was back in Brussels. He said he “agrees with the overall architecture” of the fund as presented to the MEPs. On behalf of the S&D group, Spain's Iratxe García Pérez demanded “ambition” from the Commission, setting the bar at “€2 trillion”. For the Renew Europe group, “the rule of law is non-negotiable”, warned its president, Romanian MEP Dacian Cioloș, with a link to the budget and the EU's fundamental values expected to be established. Greens/EFA co-president Philippe Lamberts (Belgium) insisted on “fiscal justice”. Martin Schirdewan (GUE/NGL, Germany) asked if once the crisis is over, can one expect a return to fiscal “austerity”, which will increase the risk of a new public debt crisis.
The issue of European sovereignty was also raised. Tom Vandendriessche (Identity and Democracy, Belgium) urged the EU to reindustrialise Europe and protect jobs and businesses “against coronavirus imports from China”. We need “firm measures to avoid hostile takeovers”, added Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, Belgium).
At this plenary session, the European Parliament will adopt its position on the future Recovery Fund and the revision of the draft MFF 2021-2027. A draft resolution supported by the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and ECR groups will thus be put to a vote. This draft resembles in all aspects the document put together by the Parliamentary Contact Group on the Budget (see EUROPE 12485/20).
See the draft resolution: https://bit.ly/2WtiVYH
The GUE/NGL Group has put forward its own resolution, which calls for any public aid to be made conditional on combating tax evasion, strengthening labour standards and suspending the payment of dividends. “By working with the ECR group, (the other groups) are shifting the centre of gravity of the European Parliament even further to the right, preferring to work with a group that questions all forms of European solidarity”, commented French MEP Manon Aubry, speaking to EUROPE.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, promised that the EU27 would work “with their sleeves rolled up” and “hands in the dirt” to develop a credible and forward-looking recovery plan, which he called the "De Gasperi plan”. He recalled the main thrust of the roadmap endorsed by the European Council at the end of April (see EUROPE 12473/1): - strengthening the internal market in line with the climate and digital agendas; - to deepen the debate on the EU's strategic autonomy by stimulating “made in Europe”.
He did not specify how the European recovery plan will be financed or what it will be used for, but called for “the reopening of borders as soon as possible”, while the Commission presented its guidelines on the gradual lifting of restrictions on free movement within the Schengen area on the same day (see separate news item). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Pascal Hansens)