Economic and Financial Affairs

The plans submitted set out the reforms and public investment projects that each Member State intends to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The RRF is the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the EU's plan for emerging stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide up to €672.5 billion to support investments and reforms (in 2018 prices). This breaks down into grants worth a total of €312.5 billion and €360 billion in loans. The grant allocation for all Member States under the RRF in current prices is available here. The RRF will play a crucial role in helping Europe emerge stronger from the crisis and in securing the green and digital transitions. The Portuguese plan is structured around the three pillars of resilience, green and digital transformation. It requests €13.9 billion in grants and €2.7 billion in loans under the RRF. Germany's recovery and resilience plan includes measures structured around six policy priorities for an overall amount of €27.9 billion, with the additional amount to be covered by Germany. Greece has requested a total of €30.5 billion in support under the RRF, €17.8 billion in grants and €12.7 billion in loans, and structured its plan around four pillars: green, digital, employment, skills and social cohesion, and private investment and economic and institutional transformation. France has requested a total of €40.9 billion in grants under the RRF, with a plan structured around the three pillars of resilience, green and digital transformation. It places a particular emphasis on the fight against climate change thanks to investments in energy-efficiency, sustainable transport and green technologies.

The Eurogroup also held a thematic discussion on insolvency frameworks based on a technical note prepared by the Commission. Effective and efficient insolvency frameworks are very important for achieving a quicker recovery as well as more robust growth and deeper financial integration within the euro area in the future. Finance ministers also took stock of ongoing work on the euro as a digital currency and reviewed the Eurogroupʼs current practices on transparency. Meeting in inclusive format, ministers heard a presentation by Tuomas Saarenheimo, chair of the High-Level Working Group on a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS), about progress made on the consensus-based preparation of a stepwise and time-bound work plan on all outstanding elements needed to complete the banking union. The report was requested by the Euro Summit in December 2020.

Ministers also received an update from the Commission on the state of preparation of the recovery and resilience plans and a presentation regarding the communication on the financing of Next Generation EU. The presidency gave an update on the ratification of the own resources decision, pointing out that 17 Member States have already completed the process. The Commission briefed ministers on the implementation of the renewed action plan on the Capital Markets Union, focusing on upcoming initiatives such as the European Single Access Point, which should help investors to get easy, quick and comparable access to European company data, thereby facilitating the financing of European companies. Ministers also exchanged views on the future of the European financial architecture for development, with the participation of the presidents of the EBRD and EIB, Odile Renaud-Basso and Werner Hoyer. In other business, the presidency and the Commission debriefed ministers on the outcome of the meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on 7 April 2021 and ministers received an update on the state of play regarding legislative procedures in the field of financial services.

The combination of the first-ever legal framework on AI and a new Coordinated Plan with Member States will guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses, while strengthening AI uptake, investment and innovation across the EU. New rules on Machinery will complement this approach by adapting safety rules to increase users’ trust in the new, versatile generation of products. The new AI regulation will make sure that Europeans can trust what AI has to offer. Proportionate and flexible rules will address the specific risks posed by AI systems and set the highest standard worldwide. The Coordinated Plan outlines the necessary policy changes and investment at Member States level to strengthen Europe's leading position in the development of human-centric, sustainable, secure, inclusive and trustworthy AI.

An estimated 1.5 to 2.5 million businesses in Europe have been able to keep on their employees during the pandemic - thanks to the European Commission’s SURE instrument, which supports government furlough schemes. In the 18 countries which have received SURE funds, it has helped 25 to 30 million workers keep their jobs during the pandemic. The next step is the EU’s recovery plan - known as Next Generation EU - which is set to follow in the coming weeks. To fund SURE and Next Generation EU, the EU is issuing up to 850 billion euros (900 billion euros in current prices) in bonds over the next 5 years. This is the first time the EU is borrowing on such a large scale, making it the new big player in the sovereign bond market and helping underpin the international position of the euro. Moreover, the EU’s high credit rating combined with its ability to guarantee the debt means that investors are more confident buying EU bonds. The financing includes social and green bonds, meaning the funds serve a truly social or green objective. According to Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, the impact of this financing of at least 800 billion in bonds denominated in euro will be huge, strengthening the euro as a real alternative currency. “And that's why it has also a very strong economic but also political impact,” concludes Hahn.

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