Newsletter: Final countdown for the recovery funds to be released
Monday, 10 may 2021
Good morning Future is blue readers,
This week we are having a closer look at Member States’ ratification of the EU’s own-resources decision. In the last days the Commission has started receiving the recovery plans. It will have now two months to evaluate them and then it will be the Council’s turn to give a final green light, which is expected in July. Nevertheless, the availability of funding will depend on countries’ ratification of the own-resources decision. Don’t miss below the latest paper by Miguel Carrion, Funcas Europe analyst, with an overview of this process and the remaining obstacles for the coveted Corona funds to be finally released.
We’re also featuring a CEPS paper, Steering and monitoring the recovery and resilience plans, reading between the lines, part of the series of the recovery and resilience reflection papers.
See at the end, as usual, what we are reading these days.
Ratification of the EU Own-Resources Decision: what is the state of affairs?
At the end of April, 10 out of 27 member countries had not yet ratified the own-resources decision. Until recently, Germany, the largest member state, seemed most at risk of not ratifying the decision by the end of July. On March 26, the German Constitutional Court had held up the signing of the law ratifying the own-resources decision while it considered an injunction. But on April 21 the Court decided to reject the injunction on a balance of the costs. This cleared the way for German ratification but left open the constitutionality of the own-resources decision. Once Germany ratifies, it becomes harder politically for others not to. But the German court may theoretically still decide that Germany cannot take part in the joint funding of the recovery plan.
Of the countries that had not yet ratified the own-resources decision, the real holdouts were those that had not even submitted to the Commission any elements of their national recovery plans yet. Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Lithuania, and Estonia, the five countries that reportedly had not even submitted draft recovery plans by mid-April, are close to a hard core of principled opposition to fiscal union.
Read the full article by Miguel Carrion here.
Steering and monitoring the recovery and resilience plans, reading between the lines
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is an important test for the EU, and its successful implementation could lead to significant and necessary transformations in the EU in terms of structural reforms and climate and digital transition, explains this CEPS paper.
“If it fails to deliver on its stated goals and member states mismanage the RRF funds, the repercussions for the EU will be more than merely budgetary. They could have political implications for the stability of the European project by eroding trust between member states, on top of a delay in recovery and the necessary structural reforms”.
Access here the CEPS paper.
What we are reading
Setting Europe's economic recovery in motion: a first look at national plans
Plans for spending EU recovery funds by the four largest EU countries reflect rather different priorities, claim Bruegel’s Zsolt Darvas and Simone Tagliapietra
How the Digital markets act can tame the big tech
The Commission has proposed new competition rules for digital markets. Its Digital Markets Act would forbid large digital platforms from some types of unfair or anti-competitive conduct.
Joe Biden’s experiment could revolutionize economic thinking
US president’s rescue plans upend the framework we use to understand the role of policy, argues Megan Green.
How businesses can empower people to take action on climate change
Businesses can enable individuals to contribute to sustainability projects through their online activities. Reforestation projects using these kinds of revenue models are already proving successful but there is plenty more that can be done.
Have a nice week!
Raymond Torres, Funcas Europe Director