‘Money will start flowing’ for EU’s recovery from the pandemic

A united front: €750bn set to kick-start bloc’s green and digital future

Tourists arrive at Barcelona airport, Spain. Spain is trying to ramp up its tourism industry by welcoming vaccinated visitors from most countries, as well as all Europeans who prove that they are not infected with the coronavirus. AP Photo

Tourists arrive at Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma Majorca, Spain. EPA

People walk on the promenade at Barceloneta Beach in Barcelona, Spain. AFP

People wearing face masks walk along a commercial street in downtown Madrid, Spain. AP Photo

A tourist wheels luggage in the Barceloneta district in Barcelona, Spain. Bloomberg

Visitors sunbathe on Lloret beach in Lloret de Mar, Spain. Bloomberg

Socially distanced students listen to instructions before they take their university entrance exams in Madrid, Spain. EPA

Police officers move people out of the streets to discourage them from crowding, as Spanish regions with a low infection rates were allowed to reopen nightlife facilities, in Mallorca, Spain. Reuters

People wait in queues at Faro airport, in Faro, Portugal. Reuters

Visitors arrive to watch a film screening at Pathe cinema 'De Munt' in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, after a relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. AFP

Tourists on a public waterbus on the Canal Grande, in Venice, Italy. The Italian Health Ministry announced that the Italian regions of Abruzzo, Liguria, Umbria and Veneto will fall in the low-risk white zone starting June 7th. EPA

A boy receives a vaccine in Rieti, Italy, on a day dedicated to vaccinations for children aged between 12 and 16. EPA

A staff member uses a self-testing kit at the UBO University of Western Brittany in Brest, western France. AFP

Tennis fans wearing a tennis ball style hats and face masks, watch Sloane Stephens play Karolina Muchova in the the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France. AP Photo

A shopper looks around a clothes store in Berlin, Germany. People are no longer required to show a negative Covid-19 test result to enter non-essential shops in Berlin. Getty Images

Numerous people enjoy the sun in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images

The EU's economic recovery from the pandemic is set to ramp up and the "money will start flowing in the coming weeks", the head of the European Commission has said.

Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc of 27 countries' recovery plan was made possible by a refusal to "tear ourselves apart" and by fighting the pandemic as a united front.

Ms von der Leyen described the €750 billion ($913.11bn) Next Generation EU initiative as Europe’s biggest recovery effort since the post-Second World War Marshall Plan.

The centrepiece is the €672.50bn in loans and grants via the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with each member state asked to submit a plan of intended reforms.

The Commission wants to use the pandemic as an opportunity to transform the bloc’s future, with 37 per cent of recovery plan funds earmarked for climate-friendly objectives. Another 20 per cent should be devoted to the digital transition, it said.

It is expected that from next week, the Commission will begin approving national recovery plans with 23 member states having submitted proposals.

"These plans send a very clear message. Europeans are ready for a new start," Ms von der Leyen told the European Parliament. "Our citizens are ready to embrace a more sustainable, a more digital and a more resilient future."

Ms von der Leyen said the EU plan sought to make it a “European” recovery.

“Next Generation EU can deliver so much more than 27 individual recovery plans ever could and this will further unite our union. Europeans are in this crisis together, we will come out of it together and we will come out stronger than ever before.

“Next Generation EU has shown how much we can achieve when we all work together. So, with more confidence than ever, I say ‘long live Europe’.”

The plan was devised in July 2020 but needed the support of all member states before the Commission could borrow the billions of euros required to kick-start the recovery.

The EU’s statistical office on Tuesday reported that gross domestic product in the 19 eurozone countries decreased by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous three months.