Press Release: European Commission proposals for a green recovery fund and new EU budget promise to provide the money needed to rebuild weakened economies – but environmental groups have warned some measures don’t go far enough and others are completely missing.
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is Europe’s largest network of environmental NGOs with more than 160 members in 36 countries.
Jeremy Wates, Secretary General of the EEB said:
“The Commission’s proposals represent an important step in the right direction. We are happy to see the European Green Deal described as ‘Europe’s recovery strategy’. However, much more needs to be done and today’s proposals are far from perfect. For example, they fail to address the enormous problem of toxic pollution, which is a major threat to our health. The part of the strategy on learning lessons from the crisis doesn’t even mention habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, which have been widely touted as leading causes of new diseases.”
The European Commission hopes to ensure that its corona recovery package – ‘Next Generation EU’ – delivers on the ambition of its European Green Deal, helping Europe to lead the world in climate and environmental action, creating millions of jobs, improving our health and protecting people against future outbreaks.
Wates continued:
“This is an historic chance to rebuild Europe, creating secure, new jobs and building more resilience to future crises. How we respond to the corona crisis will decide whether we build a healthier, greener future or continue a dangerous descent into climate breakdown, further loss of biodiversity and more harmful pollution. The future of Europe is at stake.”
European money will come in two tranches: through the front-loading of the new seven-year EU budget and in a separate, new Green Recovery Fund.
Despite accounting for less than 1% of the bloc’s GDP, the EU budget is the most important financial tool in the hands of EU institutions. Because of its political weight, it has the potential to drive further investments from municipalities, governments and the private sector.
NGOs, including the EEB, have been calling for an increase in climate and environmental funding from 20% to at least 50% of the overall budget and for all funds to be conditional on the achievement of green targets and standards. More than 1.6 million EU citizens have signed petitions calling for a healthy, just and green recovery.[1]
Patrick ten Brink, the EEB’s EU Policy Director, said:
“The EU budget must contribute to cutting harmful emissions at source and restoring a healthy balance with nature. It must reflect the need to extract less, save resources and cut pollution, in line with existing climate, biodiversity, circular economy, toxic-free water and air quality objectives and the EU’s zero pollution ambition.”
The Commission’s proposal will be discussed among the EU’s 27 governments in the coming weeks. A final agreement on the EU budget with the Commission and Parliament is expected by the end of the year or early next year.
19 governments – including the so-called ‘Frugal Four’ of Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden – have backed a statement calling for the European Green Deal to be made central to the EU’s Covid-19 recovery plans.
The EEB’s policy team is currently analysing the detail of today’s proposals. More information will be published on our website later today.
