Brussels, June 1 - Neftegaz.RU. The European Commission has unveiled a €750 billion recovery plan aimed at ensuring economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Next Generation EU fund consists of allocations for € 500 billion and loans for € 250 billion.
Combined with targeted reinforcements to the long-term EU budget for 2021-2027, the fund will bring the total financial firepower of the EU budget to €1.85 trillion.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EC, said at a plenary session:
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Next Generation EU strengthens the European Green Deal and Horizon Europe – and will invest in key infrastructure from 5G to housing renovation
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At the same time, we must ensure that the transition to a climate-neutral economy leaves nobody behind
As explained, the grants will be channeled through the European budget, limiting each country’s contribution according to a fixed formula.
She added:
- The grants will be clear investments in our European priorities:Strengthening our digital single market, European Green Deal and resilience
Brussels-based environmental NGO Transport & Environment said that the €1.85 trillion recovery plan was a historic step forward for the European Union that could spark a green, healthy, and just recovery.
According to William Todts, T&E’s executive director, there is a worrying lack of detail on what green investment actually means.
Spending big on shared and electric mobility is the right thing to do, but this plan leaves the door wide open for polluting engines and even airplanes to get stimulus money.
That’s completely unacceptable, he said.
To date 1.3 million citizens have signed on to a ‘green and just recovery’ appeal, which warns against EU and national governments bailing out polluting industries involved in sectors such as gas, oil and coal, chemicals, cars and airlines.
Any stimulus investments must be conditional on companies’ alignment with social, environmental and climate objectives, T&E believes.
«The EU’s stimulus plan is a once in a generation opportunity. If we get this right we’ll emerge in a Europe with healthy and livable cities, a cutting-edge automotive industry and millions of new green jobs. But if we blow this chance, we can forget about the Green Deal or winning the global technology race. The stakes couldn’t possibly be higher,» Todts concluded.
