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EPP supports the European Recovery Instrument: Growing stronger out of the crisis

adopted by the EPP Presidency on 11 June 2020
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The European People’s Party welcomes the proposal of the European Commission for an unprecedented response to the current pandemic as a good basis for discussion: The European Recovery Instrument / Next Generation EU consisting of 750 billion Euro  in grants and loans. The coronavirus crisis has shown that the EU needs better means to deal with a public health crisis like the one we are currently facing. This includes tackling the economic consequences of the pandemic which will require closer cooperation and solidarity between all Member States. We are all in this together and we must take unprecedented steps to mitigate the unnecessary loss of jobs and bankruptcy of businesses. But a crisis is also an opportunity: Together we can strengthen our economies and make them more competitive in the future, especially in the areas of the environment and the digital economy. We are determined to make Europe stronger facing this crisis The European People’s Party
  • Welcomes the proposal of the European Commission for a European Recovery Instrument / Next Generation EU as an unprecedented but necessary response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Supports the Commission proposal with the aim to find as quickly as possible a comprehensive solution on the package as a whole including the volume and the balance between grants and loans, based on solidarity and responsibility. In this crisis we must act in solidarity and with determination to preserve jobs and the future of our economies;
  • Calls for a credible repayment plan which would need to start latest in 2028 and which should be based on the development of EU own resources. As a first step, a tax on plastic waste could be decided and ratified by the Member States –together with a politically binding calendar on other own resources to be implemented before the end of 2027;
  • Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to ensure that the money is spent effectively and responsibly on sectors and regions which have been most severely hit by the pandemic. There must be a direct linkage with Member States’ compliance with the rule of law and European principles. Moreover, structural reforms and innovation should be promoted and the use of the money for ideological projects must be avoided.


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