The Covid-19 crisis risks bringing the European economy to its knees and as we still have mountains to climb our only choice is to take bold, decisive steps. Dacian CIOLOȘ, Renew Europe President spoke today in the European Parliament plenary session during a debate on the recovery fund and the long term budget.
“We need the Council to take decisive step forward and get things moving. The Next Generation EU plan presented by the Commission must also become the ambition assumed by the European Council. Let me be clear, it is not about throwing money out the window, but it is vital that we give all our support to our small businesses, our self-employed, our companies and employees - to these men and woman who will be the motor of our recovery. It will also be a question of conditioning them to reform so that this European solidarity is the engine of a real common recovery.
On the MFF he added: “The recovery plan will allow us to get back on track, the new European budget will define our ability to cross the finish line. The level of ambition of the MFF remains far from the expectations of the Parliament, not only in terms of volume, but also on own resources. Own resources are non-negotiable and no recovery plan is credible without them, imagine borrowing 750 billion yet not knowing how exactly you will pay it back. We also have questions regarding the direct consequences of cuts and insufficient funding for key programmes in vital areas such as digital, single market, defence and projects for our young population.”
He concluded “Finally and importantly for us, Renew will not support a new European budget if it continues to provide funding to European governments which, every day, turn their backs on our values and undermine democracy and the rule of law.“
ENDS