COVID-19

On 9 of November the European Parliament’s Budgets and Economic and Monetary Affairs committees both adopted the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the core of the European Union’s plan to tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parliament voted for €672.5 billion in grants and loans to support EU countries for four years, which would only be available to governments respecting the rule of law and European values.

To take advantage of the funds, national governments must draft recovery and resilience plans consistent with a number of EU priorities, including green transition, digital transformation and territorial cohesion. Member States are invited to describe the role of their regional and local governments in developing the plans, but how deeply involved they will be remains to be seen. Parliament and national governments in Council must now negotiate an agreement on the scheme, even as Member States are bitterly divided over the rule of law provisions.