(28 May 2021) – The national parliaments of Austria and Poland approved Europe’s €672 post-coronavirus recovery fund yesterday, the last of the 27 EU member states, paving the way for ratification.
“With the positive votes of the Austrian and Polish parliaments today, the 27 member states finalised the parliamentary approval process,” European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Twitter.
Officials previously said that if member states gave the go-ahead to the plan, money for the €672 billion package of grants and loans could “start to flow in July”.
This will be a year on from the European Union’s historic decision to pool debt to fund the recovery package.
What once seemed like a hugely ambitious exercise, however, has been dwarfed by the United States’ adoption of a $1.9-trillion infrastructure plan. (AFP / EurActiv)