(14 May 2020) – European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen shed some light on her upcoming COVID-19 recovery plan in the European Parliament yesterday but did not unveil the size of the updated EU budget proposal that will underpin the plan.
As previously announced, the recovery plan will be based on the EU’s seven-year budget and will be topped up by a recovery instrument “funded through a larger headroom”. Concretely, this means the Commission will propose to borrow a fixed maximum amount of money from the markets making use of guarantees provided by member states.
The second pillar of the recovery instrument will seek to mobilise private investment to kick-start the economy, with a particular focus on strategic sectors.
In the third pillar, Ursula von der Leyen intends to reinforce instruments that proved their worth during the COVID-19 crisis – from RescUE (natural disasters) to Horizon Europe (research and innovation) – and create a dedicated health programme. (EurActiv)