Economic and Financial Affairs

This is an important step towards the EU disbursing €316.4 million in grants to Malta and €14.2 billion in grants and €14.9 billion in loans to Romania under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This financing will support the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in the two Member State’s recovery and resilience plans, enabling them to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. The RRF is at the heart of NextGenerationEU which will provide €800 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across the EU. The Maltese and Romanian plans form part of an unprecedented, coordinated EU response to the COVID-19 crisis. They aim to address common European challenges by embracing the green and digital transitions and strengthening economic and social resilience, as well as the cohesion of the Single Market. The Commission assessed the plans based on the criteria set out in the RRF Regulation, focusing on whether the investments and reforms contained in the plans support the green and digital transitions; contribute to effectively addressing challenges identified in the European Semester; and strengthen growth potential, job creation and economic and social resilience.

The report finds that SURE has been successful in cushioning the severe socio-economic impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. National labour market measures supported by SURE are estimated to have reduced unemployment by almost 1.5 million people in 2020. Thanks to SURE and other support measures, the increase in unemployment in the beneficiary Member States during the pandemic has turned out to be significantly smaller than during the global financial crisis, despite the much larger fall in GDP. SURE provides financial support in the form of loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to Member States to finance national short-time work schemes, similar measures to preserve jobs and support incomes, notably for the self-employed, and some health-related measures. A total of €94.3 billion in financial assistance has so far been approved for 19 Member States, of which €89.6 billion has been disbursed. SURE can still provide almost €6 billion in financial assistance to Member States out of the total envelope of €100 billion.

The theme of the Summit will be “Make it sustainable: investing together in our future”. Speakers include Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Bill Gates, Founder, Breakthrough Energy and Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Elizabeth Wathuti, Environmentalist and Climate Activist, Founder, Green Generation Initiative; and many more. The EU Sustainable Investment Summit seeks to raise awareness, advance new perspectives, and inspire daring and trailblazing initiatives in Europe and globally. The full list of speakers and the programme are available on the event’s website. For the latest updates and the highlights, please register here. Join the #InvestGreenEU conversation on social media and follow DG ECFIN on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

This year’s edition will focus on the post-pandemic economy under the topic ‘Charting the European economy post Covid-19: unusual times require unconventional policies’. Join Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni, ECFIN Director-General Maarten Verwey, Professor Lucrezia Reichlin and more than twenty other speakers as they chart the post-pandemic European economy and society, exploring the consequences of the pandemic for Europe’s firms and consumers, economic policy and social cohesion. Be sure not to miss this interesting and insightful event on the upcoming economic and social challenges and opportunities by registering for the conference.

The report published on 22 September concludes that Greece has taken the necessary actions to meet its specific commitments, despite the challenging circumstances caused by the pandemic. The Greek authorities delivered on specific commitments across various areas, including privatisations, improving the business environment and tax administration, while advancing wider structural reforms such as in the areas of school education and public administration. European institutions welcomed the close and constructive engagement in all areas. They encouraged the Greek authorities to keep up the momentum and, where necessary, reinforce efforts to remedy the delays partly caused by the pandemic.