The recovery plan for Europe: what’s in it for you?
The Council continues working to roll out the EU recovery plan. But how does it impact you? It creates jobs, makes your life greener and more digital, and boosts healthcare and education.
Whilst many of us were on holiday, the Council, together with the European Commission and the EU countries, kept working to ensure that the EU emerges stronger from the pandemic. The EUR 750 billion recovery plan for Europe is now in motion. It’s called NextGenerationEU as it offers a once in a lifetime chance to rebuild our societies in a better way by creating opportunities for everyone, but for young people in particular. Its main objectives are to:
- Create smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs
- Make EU economies and societies greener and more digital
- Reinforce the EU’s resilience to threats and strengthen its healthcare systems
- Step up education, research and innovation, focusing on young people
- Boost social and territorial cohesion
How does the plan work?
Over the last year, the EU countries and institutions have agreed on the plan’s priorities, mechanism and governance, and on its main financial pillar, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which amounts to EUR 672.5 billion.
To benefit from the recovery plan, each EU country must draw a national ‘recovery and resilience plan’, identifying key priorities, projects and reforms. This plan needs to be reviewed by the Commission, and the Commission’s positive assessment must then be approved by the Council.
Once the Council gives its approval and the EU countries and the Commission have signed the agreements, EU funds can start flowing to the national economies, and the work to implement them through concrete projects begins. The Council has already approved 18 national recovery and resilience plans, so their roll-out is well under way.
Creating sustainable and inclusive jobs
The recovery plan for Europe helps create new jobs, particularly in the green and digital sectors, where new skills and innovative ideas are much needed. Young people will receive support to study and to learn skills through research and exchange programmes and apprenticeships, for instance by reinforcing Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and the EU Youth Guarantee.
Young entrepreneurs will benefit from loans and grants that will make it easier and less risky to set up innovative companies and start-ups. The plan will also boost employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and for people living in rural, remote or disadvantaged areas by providing more funding for cohesion programmes, investments and incentives.
Contributing to fighting climate change
NextGenerationEU will push for Europe to become climate neutral by 2050 by investing in environmentally-friendly technologies, and by making our cities, vehicles and public transport systems green and energy efficient. To achieve this, 30 % of the entire European budget for 2021-27, including a large share of the EU recovery plan’s funds, will go towards green policies, the highest share ever.
The plan supports more sustainable ways of living and organising our societies, for example by triggering a renovation wave to make buildings across the EU energy efficient. The plan will push for electric mobility by helping roll out a network of charging stations for electric vehicles and by helping to make electric vehicles more affordable. On top of reducing CO2 emissions, these actions improve the quality of our lives and our health by reducing pollution and waste and by protecting our natural environment.
Boosting digitalisation
On the digital front, the recovery plan will push the roll-out of 5G across the EU, bringing hyper-connectivity to many aspects of our lives, whilst protecting our rights and privacy. Our cities will become smarter and more efficient (for example, our public administrations will become increasingly digitalised). Online activities will be safer (in part through a European digital identity ‘eID’), and we will make better use of artificial intelligence to help us improve healthcare, transport and education, and to fight climate change.
Making our societies more resilient
NextGenerationEU will help to better protect our societies against external threats. On the health front, it will help in strengthening and modernising our health systems, including through a new health programme, EU4Health. Besides that, the Plan will fund research to develop vaccines and treatments, not just for COVID-19, but also for other diseases such as cancer. In addition, medical and healthcare professionals will get funding for training.
Sklad za okrevanje: EU uresničuje obljubljeno (Infografika)
Supporting reforms
In addition to investments, NextGenerationEU will support EU countries in implementing reforms, based on the priorities identified in the Country-Specific Recommendations which result from the EU policy coordination mechanism, the European Semester. The reforms chosen by each EU country and the steps for implementing them are outlined in their recovery plans. Some examples are: increasing the efficiency of justice systems, simplifying administrative procedures and bureaucracy to make our lives easier, and opening up markets to competition.
Europe’s masterplan to rebuild our societies post-pandemic and make them stronger, fairer and more sustainable has you and the next EU generations at its core. Learn more about its objectives and the opportunities it offers.