Due to its historical and political importance, I reproduce here the speech of the President of the European Commission Ursula Van der Leyen to the European Parliament on May 27th, regarding the European Program for Economic Recovery, which she called the “Next European Generation”.
«Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Europe is a story of generations. And each generation has its own story. The story of the founding generation of our Union spoke of building lasting peace, when everything was sadness, pain and destruction. The task of the next generation was to achieve prosperity and freedom by choosing unity in our internal market and our single currency. Then it was necessary to gather our European family, free our brothers and sisters from the great cold and welcome them into our bosom, in the very heart of our Union.
All these generations and all these historic successes were built on previous successes and inspired the successes that followed. And the choice was always this: either to follow the path of least resistance, separately, or to move forward together, with vision and ambition and in the same direction. In these defining moments, we always choose to step forward together. This is because, for Europe, the boldest measures are always the safest. It was this principle that allowed us to build a unique Union of peace and prosperity, without precedent in the entire world.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, we face our own moment of truth. What started with a virus so small that it's invisible to the naked eye has turned into an economic crisis so big that simply no one can ignore it. Our unique model, built over 70 years, is being challenged like never before, in our lifetime or in the history of the Union. The common European goods that we have built together are being destroyed. What we considered acquired is being questioned:
the single market, which needs to recover;
the level playing field, which needs to be restored;
the four freedoms, which need to be fully restored;
the crisis has enormous external effects and repercussions from one country to another.
No country can remedy these consequences alone. A company going bankrupt in one Member State means the disappearance of a reliable supplier to another company in another Member State. A struggling economy in one part of Europe weakens a strong economy in another part. This crisis affects us all. And it's much bigger than any of us.
This is Europe time. We see the economic, budgetary and social repercussions in all Member States. Divergences and disparities increase.
A balance needs to be found for the complex issues of sovereignty and burden-sharing. We are therefore faced, once again, with the same binary choice. Either we face the problem individually, leaving countries, regions and people behind and accepting a Union of the 'disadvantaged' and the 'disadvantaged', or we walk the path together. Let's take that leap forward. We have opened a solid path for our peoples and the next generation.
For me the choice is simple. I want us to take a bold new step together. Europe is in a unique position to be able to invest in collective recovery and a common future. In our Union, people, businesses and economies depend on and need each other. In our Union, cohesion, convergence and investment benefit everyone. And in our Union, we know that the boldest measures are truly the most secure for our future.
The Next Generation EU Cooperation Instrument
It is for this reason that the Commission is today proposing a new recovery instrument, called the Next Generation EU, worth EUR 750 billion. It will be added to a revised long-term EU budget of €1,1 billion. The Next Generation EU instrument together with the main multi-annual financial framework (MFF) represents an allocation of EUR 1,8 billion in today's proposals. It also follows up on the three safety nets of EUR 540 billion in loans, which have already been approved by Parliament and Council. Our recovery effort would thus amount to EUR 2,4 billion in total.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me explain to you how the Next Generation EU instrument will work. The funds will be collected by temporarily removing the own resources ceiling, in order to allow the Commission to use its excellent credit rating to borrow on the financial markets. This is an urgent and exceptional need in the face of an urgent and exceptional crisis. This is why the Next Generation EU instrument:
it will invest in repairing our social fabric;
it will protect our single market;
it will help to rebalance balance sheets across Europe.
As we deliver these actions, we also need to move quickly towards a green, digital and resilient future. It is about the future of Europe's next generation. This generation that is globally interconnected and feels responsible for our world, our planet.
That has a clear vision of promoting human dignity and the rule of law.
That it is determined to make governments more accountable for fighting climate change and protecting our nature.
Which is guided by pro-European idealism and the conviction that our Union must strive for better results.
So, in addition to showing solidarity to overcome the current crisis, I propose a new Generational Pact for the future. It is true that the effects of this crisis mean that today we have to make investments on an unprecedented scale. But let's do it so that the next European generation reaps the benefits in the future. Our investments will allow us not only to preserve the remarkable achievements of the last 70 years, but to ensure that our Union is climate-neutral, digital, social and a strong player on the world stage in the future too.
To achieve this, the Next Generation EU instrument directs its enormous financial capacity to invest in our common priorities through European programmes. I remain committed to ensuring that this House can fully pronounce on the essential decisions for our Union. With my proposal to invest these funds through programs covered by the European budget, that is precisely what will happen.
The Next Generation EU instrument will re-establish our single market, that great source of innovation, prosperity and opportunity. All Member States must invest in technologies that stimulate recovery through innovation and clean industries. The Next Generation EU instrument will reinforce the European Ecological Pact and Horizon Europe program and invest in essential infrastructure ranging from 5G to home renovation. At the same time, we must ensure that the transition to a climate-neutral economy leaves no one behind.
Next Generation EU will therefore multiply funding from the Fair Transition Fund. Similarly, no Member State should be forced to choose between responding to the crisis or investing in its population. The Next Generation EU instrument will strengthen support for the Erasmus program and youth employment. It will ensure that people have access to the skills, training and education they need to adapt to this rapidly changing world.
The Next Generation EU instrument will help perfectly sound companies, who have made the right decisions and made the right investments for decades, but are currently at risk because competing companies from other Member States have better access to public or private funds to obtain new capital. It will invest in key European industries and technologies to make key supply chains more resilient. It will ensure that Europe maintains its leading position in key areas such as artificial intelligence, precision agriculture or ecological engineering.
The Next Generation EU instrument will help increase the resilience of our healthcare systems to future crises. This investment will be a new European commons. It will demonstrate the real and tangible value of being part of the Union. And it will be owned by all of us.
In total, the Commission will mobilize EUR 750 billion for the Next Generation EU instrument. Of this total, EUR 500 billion will be distributed in the form of grants and EUR 250 billion in the form of loans granted to Member States.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me make it clear that these grants are a common investment in our future. They have nothing to do with Member States' debts in the past. The grants come from the European budget and limit each country's payment according to a fixed key. Grants are a clear investment in our European priorities: strengthening the digitization of our single market, the European Ecological Pact and Resilience.
Furthermore, the EU budget has always been made up of grants. This is not something new:
Grants for specific investments and renovations,
for greater cohesion
and for the convergence of living conditions in Europe.
And our European Union is living proof that it works. Thanks to the European Union, prosperity and living standards in each Member State have increased. These investments through the EU budget had multiplier effects for the benefit of all!
Therefore, the Next Generation EU program is for all of us. We invest together in the future of Europe and pay the full amount according to a fixed and tested key in future EU budgets. To this end, the Commission will also propose a series of new sources of own revenue. These could be based on the projected increase in emissions trading, or a border carbon tax that acts as a compensation mechanism against imports of cheap and climate-damaging products from abroad, or a new carbon tax. digital services. We have to be ambitious, and I count on your support.
Gentlemen,
The time has come to make the right decision. To those who fear this courageous investment today, I say that, in the future, the cost of inaction in the face of this crisis will be much higher. The aim is to lay the foundations for our future together, while providing an adequate response to a clearly defined, involuntary and exceptional crisis situation.
We have to demystify the old prejudices! Instead, we must rediscover the strength that comes from the idea of a joint Europe. The crisis that we currently have to overcome is enormous. But this is also a huge opportunity for Europe and an opportunity to take on our responsibility to make the right decision. We can now lay the foundations for a Union that is climate-neutral, digital and stronger than ever.
Seventy years ago, our founding fathers and mothers took the first courageous step towards creating a Union of peace and prosperity. The time has come to add the chapter of our generation and to take another big step forward in a Union of sustainability. This is our duty to the next generations.
Long live Europe!»
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