PES President Sergei Stanishev said:
“The EU has lived up to the expectation of its citizens and delivered the recovery deal right on time. Any delay in the process could have been fatal. Today, with the agreed funding, the Union acquired the tools to boost the social and economic recovery, to move forward on sustainability, to save existing jobs and create new ones, and to support the young generation of Europeans.”
Since the beginning of this crisis, socialists and democrats have been calling for a strong recovery strategy to support Member States, regions, communities, businesses and citizens who are suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. European socialists and democrats made a clear commitment to the defence of the Rule of Law in the process. The PES presidency adopted a declaration calling on the European Council to endorse the Commission’s “Next Generation EU” plan, which is now a fact.
PES President Stanishev added:
“With this agreement the European Union now has to deliver, to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and move towards a green, social, digital, gender-equal, inclusive and sustainable future. Although good news, the agreement could have being focused more on the just transition and innovation, as initially expected. The final say is with the European Parliament, where the S&D Group will be safeguarding the progressive approach.”
The PES welcomes the significant work of all progressive European commissioners in the preparation of the Commission proposal for the recovery fund, titled “Next Generation EU”. This fund (€390 billion in grants and €360 billion in loans adopted by the European Council) will be attached to a new €1.074 trillion seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) ending up in a total financial package to €1.82 trillion and will give the union the needed strength to recover.
