The JTF is a central part of the European Green Deal, an initiative spearheaded by European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans.
Under the European Green Deal, EU funding will help create millions of new green, quality, jobs. It will propel Europe to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent, reaching that goal by 2050.
The approval of the JTF by the European Parliament today unlocks EUR 17.5 billion to support regions reliant on carbon-intensive industries to move towards more sustainable models of economic development. The JTF has been a core PES demand for several years, featuring prominently in our manifesto for the 2019 European elections.
PES President Sergei Stanishev said:
“The Just Transition Fund is an essential tool to make sure that regions that have relied on carbon-intensive industries such as coal mining do not lose out from the shift to a sustainable economic model.
“The transition will have to be just, or it will not happen at all. We all stand to gain from the green transition, but only if the right tools are put in place to accompany workers in heavily polluting sectors.
“The Just Transition Fund has been PES policy since our 2016 Congress, which is why I am especially proud that Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans and Commissioner Elisa Ferreira were able to introduce it as part of the Green Deal agenda.”
Pedro Marques, PES/S&D coordinator for the implementation of our progressive work programme, Vice President of the S&D Group and shadow rapporteur on the Just Transition Mechanism, said:
“Socialists and democrats have long argued that the European Union, national governments and local authorities need real financial firepower in order to make the promise of “no one left behind” a reality.
“The S&D Group in the European Parliament fought hard to make sure the Just Transition Fund responds to the needs of workers while living up to our climate ambitions. Beneficiary regions will be supported to diversify their economy and to safeguard social cohesion.”
The Just Transition Fund is one of the three pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism, alongside the InvestEU just transition scheme and the European Investment Bank’s public sector loan facility. The JTF will be implemented under the cohesion policy, allowing member states to combine it with funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund Plus.
