The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone and disrupted the economy in every EU country. In a survey by Eurofound, one in four of the 85 000 respondents said they had lost their job either temporarily or permanently, and half of them said they had seen their working hours reduced – especially in Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy and Romania. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, almost 40% of the respondents reported that their financial situation was worse than before the pandemic.

Is Europe’s future all grim? Hopefully not.

The EU has acted swiftly and on all fronts to tackle the impact of this historic crisis. Emergency measures to support our healthcare systems have slowed down the spread of the virus and saved tens of thousands of lives, while economic measures are helping workers and small businesses to stay afloat.

Now that the first peak of the coronavirus outbreak has passed, the EU has adopted a plan to move forward, to repair the damage and to prepare for a brighter future.

Repair and prepare for the next generation

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are so massive that recovery from its socioeconomic consequences is likely to be a long process. The needs are immediate and national efforts alone will not be enough. Therefore, the European Union has agreed to reinforce its next long-term budget to tackle the recovery.

On 27 May 2020 the European Commission proposed a new long-term EU budget along with a recovery plan that will help EU countries to mitigate the shock from the coronavirus pandemic and pave the way for a sustainable future.

The recovery plan is called Next Generation EU to symbolise the idea of a future-proof recovery. It is a €750 billion package that is intended to be used to address the damage caused by the pandemic and invest in a green, digital, social and more resilient EU. This instrument is exceptional and temporary and will provide grants and loans for every EU country.

What comes next?

It is now up to EU countries (meeting in the Council) and the European Parliament to discuss the Commission’s proposal and agree on it.

Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, is consulting with EU leaders to discuss different aspects of the plan. We can expect intensive negotiations among them at the next European Council meeting on 19 June. The aim is to reach an agreement as soon as possible and rapidly make use of the EU’s power to invest in a collective recovery and a better future for the next generation.

• More information about the recovery plan

The background: the EU’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Since the pandemic started, the EU and its countries have taken unprecedented action to protect citizens and minimise the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. This action was swiftly directed to the most affected areas to support workers, businesses and national economies.

To support workers, the Council has adopted SURE, which stands for support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency, a temporary programme that can provide up to €100 billion in loans under favourable terms to EU countries. The new instrument is designed to help protect people in jobs affected by the pandemic. SURE is one of the three safety nets, which altogether are worth €540 billion. The other two packages are a pan-European guarantee fund to support companies, and pandemic crisis support for EU countries. Along with measures taken by the European Central Bank, the EU’s response so far provides EU countries with an unprecedented firepower to help those who need it the most.

• More information about the EU’s emergency response