NEWS

EC President urges member states to draw up recovery plans

YANNIS PALAIOLOGOS

TAGS: EU, Economy, Coronavirus

European Commissio President Ursula von der Leyen says it is crucial for member-states to start drawing up national recovery plans immediately with which they can seek funding from Next Generation EU, the 750-billion-euro Recovery Fund.

In an exclusive  interview with Kathimerini, von der Leyen says “this will ensure that the funds can be disbursed quickly.” 

The Recovery Fund will be part of the Multi-annual Financial Framework or MFF (of the seven-year EU budget).

“We are very happy that Next Generation EU is part of the MFF, it is exactly what we proposed... This guarantees genuine European governance of the program,” she says, but does not comment on the insistence of countries such as the Netherlands that member-states should have a stronger say in managing the fund.

Thanks to the way the fund has been set up, von der Layen argues, “it will be possible to ensure that national recovery programs take into account the specific characteristics of each country and at the same time promote the wider EU objectives.” 

She adds that the Recovery Fund could become one of the largest investment stimulus and reform programs in the world.

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