Recovery Plans

This week, the Resilience and Recovery Facility was approved in the European Parliament, making €672.5 billion in loans and grants available to support reforms and investments undertaken by Member States. We take a look at Spanish, Irish, French, and Italian reporting on national recovery plans.

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Spain Goes Green

El País reports that Spanish electricity company Iberdrola expects to receive €8 billion in funds for 150 projects orientated towards sustainability, clean energy, and employment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Projects include green hydrogen, smart grids, energy storage, and innovative renewables. CEO Ignacio Sánchez Galán recognised that the challenges presented by COVID-19 and climate change will require reconstruction plans of unprecedented magnitude that will provide an opportunity to transform Spain’s economy to become more modern and competitive.

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Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The Journal reports that Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath announced he is seeking views on the development of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) that will enable Ireland to access the funding offered under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) following the announcement of a further €160 million in government support for Covid hit business in Ireland. Ireland is expected to receive €853 million in grants from the RRF in 2021 and 2022, and McGrath stated that while in the past the EU has been criticised for its slow response to the economic challenges presented by the pandemic, decisive action by the ECB to limit public borrowing meant that a much stronger ﬁscal response has been put in place, with the RRF lying at the heart of the Union’s response to the pandemic.

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Finnish-ed alliance?

Le Monde reports on the Finnish stance on the European recovery plan. At the end of January, the Finnish government published a long-awaited report on the EU, showing that the Finnish contribution to the Union is far more than the expected grant. Prime Minister Sanna Marin stated that the recovery funds should be limited and that the conditions for receiving them should be strict. However, this time Finland did not join the "Frugal Four" (Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden) in blocking the negotiations. This came as a surprise, considering that the vast majority of the Finnish society is sceptical of the EU's recovery plan. Le Monde argues that the extreme right party, the True Finns, have taken advantage of the situation through politicising the debate on the Recovery Plan and spreading Eurosceptic messages. Le Monde argues that despite the rise of the extreme right, Helsinki acknowledges the importance of European Cohesion, considering that it shares the border with Russia.

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Prime Minister of the Green Deal

Repubblica reports on Mario Draghi’s stance on the European Recovery Fund. While Draghi does not go into detail about the plan, he demonstrates perseverance to overcome the dichotomy between environmental transition and economic development by integrating the respective ministries. Draghi will allocate around €69 billion in funds for the "Green Revolution", stating that his government will be pro-European and environmentalist, which led him to win the hearts of environmentalist organisations such as WWF. The president of the WWF, Donatella Bianchi, went as far to dub him "Prime Minister of the Green Deal". However Repubblica argues that despite Draghi’s commitments, the real challenge will be the precise allocation of the Recovery Plan Funds.

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