The Council must now formally approve the agreement reached before the Presidents of the Ecofin Council (ECOFIN) and the European Parliament can sign it. Under the provisional agreement, governments will have to devote 37% of their funds to the green transition. This needs to be verified using a sophisticated methodology based on EU taxonomic legislation to define sustainable investment and the rules used in the European Structural Funds to determine what counts as green. The European Parliament voted today to confirm the political agreement reached in December 2020 on the Regulation on the Facility for Reconstruction and Resilience (FRR) and the European Commission welcomed the decision in an announcement. The agreement is now subject to formal approval by the Council of the European Union. Ministers reached a political agreement on the Reconstruction and Resilience Facility, the main instrument of the €750 billion recovery plan negotiated by EU leaders at their meeting on 17-21 July. In order to benefit from the support of the RRF, Member States must develop national recovery and resilience plans, including targets, milestones and estimated costs, as technically assessed by the Commission. [25] Finally, the European Council will give its political approval to the proposals, which will be voted on by qualified majority. [26] BACKGROUND Part of the European Union`s response to the devastating crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has been to agree and mobilise an unprecedented fund for Europe`s economic and social recovery. In May 2020, the European Commission proposed the €750 billion NextGenerationEU temporary recovery tool.

This should complement and strengthen the EU`s long-term budget. In July 2020, the Council reached a political agreement on the budget and the recovery plan. European countries could receive the first money from the EU`s PANDEMIC reconstruction fund this summer, as part of a political agreement reached between lawmakers in the early hours of Friday. The EU`s long-term budget is at the heart of the recovery plan for Europe. This is the basis for all programmes and investments that will enable the EU to overcome the crisis, create jobs and build a sustainable economy for future generations. The long-term budget allows the EU to align its spending with political priorities such as the green and digital transition. The RRF represents a unique political opportunity for European trade unions to work to finally get rid of failed austerity. Reforms and cuts imposed by austerity policies are one of the main factors affecting the ability of EU Member States to deal comprehensively with the Covid-19 emergency. The ETUC and its member organisations will strongly reject any attempt to implement austerity-based reforms through the RRF. It offers a valuable political opportunity to move from the prevailing economic paradigm in the European Union to newer and more social economic governance. The safeguard clause for the autonomy of the social partners and collective bargaining is contained in the recitals. Recital 33(1) reads as follows: `The national recovery and resilience plan should be without prejudice to the right to conclude or enforce collective agreements or to take collective measures in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the laws and practices of the Union and the Member States.`; In addition, recital 14[2] states that RRF funds can be used to `enable the strengthening of social dialogue`.

The ETUC strongly rejects macroeconomic conditionalities as they could be used as a means of exerting pressure on Member States by demanding the implementation of austerity measures in the use of RRF funds. Although the ETUC has strongly opposed macroeconomic conditionalities in the use of RRF funds, which may lead to the suspension of the disbursement of allocated funds, conditionalities are still included in the final text. These were crucial for the political agreement reached by EU leaders in July 2020. Therefore, it was an extremely difficult goal to get them removed. Nevertheless, interinstitutional negotiations have succeeded in watering down conditionality to some extent. The FRR represents a first political achievement on the road to greater European integration. EU Member States` reforms and investments are financed by a common debt financing instrument. In addition, the FRR aims to fund actions that are largely dedicated to shaping a greener, digital and fairer future. The fund, set up for six years between 2021 and 2026, is the product of an unprecedented agreement between EU leaders to jointly lend money to increase spending needed to overcome the economic scars of the coronavirus outbreak. Lawmakers were eager to reach an agreement before the end of a tumultuous year, in a week in which the EU`s €1.074 trillion budget for the next seven years was officially approved. The European Commission has welcomed the European Parliament`s vote confirming the political agreement reached in December 2020 on the Reconstruction and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation. This is an important milestone in the €672.5 billion in loans and grants made available to Member States to support reforms and investments.

The FRR is the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the EU`s plan to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will play a crucial role in helping Europe recover from the economic and social effects of the pandemic and will help make EU economies and societies more resilient and secure in the green and digital transition. Infographic – Next Generation EU – Covid-19 Recovery Package In the first three weeks following the publication of the Commission`s proposals, we had the opportunity to consult Member States to find clarification on the interpretation of these proposals. We are now moving on to another phase: we will negotiate. I look forward to getting involved. We are aware that it is important to make a decision as quickly as possible. With €672.5 billion The EUR-funded facility is at the heart of the EU`s exceptional reconstruction efforts, Next Generation EU (NGEU): the €750 billion plan approved by EU leaders in July 2020. The RRF will help Member States address the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while ensuring that their economies make the green and digital transition and become more sustainable and resilient.

The FRR legislation still needs to be discussed at staff level to sort out the technical details, followed by formal adoption by the whole Parliament and the Council. They aim to do so in January, when there will be no obstacles to the drafting of the legal text. The ESNG is supported by seven programmes in the form of loans (€360 billion) and grants (€390 billion). EUR) guided: The remaining 30% will be fully committed by the end of 2023, based on other criteria: Infographic – Proposal for an EU Economic Recovery Plan – Key features European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement “an important step towards financing the investments and reforms we need to support economic recovery and lay the foundations for a more resilient Europe.” Infographic – EU budget 2021-2027 and economic recovery plan Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have reached a provisional agreement on the €672.5 billion Reconstruction and Resilience Facility (RRF) in a final push that began on Thursday morning. .