Category: Economy

Posted on

European Commission endorses Belgium’s €5.9 billion recovery and resilience plan

The European Commission has adopted a positive assessment of Belgium’s recovery and resilience plan. This is an important step towards the EU disbursing €5.9 billion in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This financing will support the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Belgium’s recovery and resilience plan. It will play a key role in enabling Belgium to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The RRF – at the heart of NextGenerationEU – will provide up to €672.5 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across the EU. The Belgian plan forms part of an unprecedented coordinated EU response to the COVID-19 crisis, to address common European challenges by embracing the green and digital transitions, to strengthen economic and social resilience and the cohesion of the Single Market.

The Commission assessed Belgium’s plan based on the criteria set out in the RRF Regulation. The Commission’s analysis considered, in particular, whether the investments and reforms set out in Belgium’s plan support the green and digital transitions; contribute to effectively addressing challenges identified in the European Semester; and strengthen its growth potential, job creation and economic and social resilience. Continue reading “European Commission endorses Belgium’s €5.9 billion recovery and resilience plan”

Posted on

Public authorities should be required to allocate tenders based on lifecycle impact of purchased goods and services

In a newly adopted report, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for mandatory circular public procurement across Europe to break governments’ unsustainable consumption patterns.

With an annual expenditure accounting for some 14% (some 2 trillion EUR per year) of the EU’s overall GDP, governments are Europe’s biggest consumers. Their expenditure stems mainly from public tenders to purchase the works, services and supplies they need from companies.

To encourage public authorities to embrace more sustainable consumption patterns through lifecycle thinking, looking beyond short-term needs to the longer-term impacts of each purchase, considerable work has been done in the EU over the last few years.

The European Commission has since 2017 issued guidance in the form of Green Public Procurement criteria, phasing in circular economy elements to close energy and material loops in supply chains, while minimising negative environmental impacts and waste creation. Continue reading “Public authorities should be required to allocate tenders based on lifecycle impact of purchased goods and services”

Posted on

It is time for a more prosperity-oriented form of economic governance

In its opinion on the Euro area’s economic policy for 2021, the European Economic and Social Committee welcomes the Commission’s recommendations, but calls for a shift in fiscal rules towards a more prosperity-oriented form of economic governance, including a golden rule for public investment.

At its first plenary assembly of the year, the EESC adopted an opinion on the European Commission’s recommendation for the economic policy of the euro area. The consultative body welcomes the Commission’s recommendations on the economic policy of the euro area, strongly supports the Next Generation EU package and urges that the necessary agreements be concluded as soon as possible. However, the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis will only be successful if accompanied by a restructuring of our economy and society, and rebuilding confidence is key to stabilising demand. This can be achieved by: Continue reading “It is time for a more prosperity-oriented form of economic governance”