EESC President Christa Schweng welcomes financial boost to counteract economic crisis caused by COVID-19

I warmly welcome the long-awaited adoption of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-27 and the Recovery Fund, with the rule of law as a conditionality. We urgently need this strong financial stimulus to counteract the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and to shape the post-pandemic future of the EU.

There is no more time to lose. We must ensure the money from the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan reaches those in need – be it businesses, the unemployed or NGOs – as rapidly as possible. A quick launch of funding is now even more important due to the second wave of the pandemic that EU countries are currently facing.

Given the shared management of the budget, the public administrations and agencies involved must make all necessary preparations to handle applications for EU funds swiftly.

The members of the European Economic and Social Committee, with their grassroots expertise, stand ready to play an active role in implementing the MFF and the Recovery Fund at national level.

We now need to focus on essentials for everyone in order to help businesses survive so they can in turn provide good-quality jobs. We need a society that is increasingly inclusive and accessible to all, and robustly functioning democracies that will continue to protect us in times of need.

Christa Schweng
President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

 

For more information, please contact:

Magdalena Walczak-Jarosz
Spokesperson and Communication Adviser
Cabinet of the EESC President
+32 2 546 91 09
Magdalena.WalczakJarosz@eesc.europa.eu

Ewa Haczyk-Plumley
Head of Press Unit
+32 2 546 86 41
Ewa.Haczyk@eesc.europa.eu