Renew Europe has broadly welcomed the first set of emergency measures published by the European Commission today in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our MEPs are ready to adopt these as soon as possible at a special plenary session of the European Parliament, and our coordinators from different Committees will closely review the proposed actions.

Europe must take all possible actions to mitigate the health, economic and societal impacts of the virus, protect lives and jobs. Solidarity and coordinated action are imperative both in terms of the economic effort and in ensuring the availability of medicines and protective equipment in the EU. National-centric approaches should be avoided at all costs. We need a bold and decisive EU plan to come out stronger from this crisis.

The Commission’s proposal to redirect unspent EU money is innovative and efficient. However, more could be done: there is money left in the pot, and we shouldn’t have to choose between fighting a pandemic and strengthening our Union. The Commission should use the margins of the 2020 EU budget to inject €4 billion of fresh money and consider mobilising other funds, such as the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). This crisis shows it is time to wake up to the fact that we need a budget fit for the 21st century.

Beyond the immediate proposals announced today, we call on the European Commission to start working on temporary EU-wide instruments to avoid a cycle of job-destruction and create new ones in strategic sectors. The establishment of a temporary European Employment Protection Facility, similar to the Kurzarbeit programme, should be considered. EU-level responses across a range of fields need to be developed and will encourage economies of scale.

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