The European Green Deal as a recovery strategy for the European Union

The so-called Next Generation EU, presented by the European Commission, aims to address the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 and will do so with the European Green Deal as one of its pillars.

The European Green Deal will be a key element in the European strategy to address the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe.a press releasePublished in the last week of May, the European Commission made known what the strategy of the body chaired by Ursula Von der Leyen was to deal with this situation, which is embodied in a plan called “Next Generation EU”, and did so highlighting the European Green Deal as one of its recovery pillars.

Von der Leyen unveiled a plan that, if approved by all member states, would make up to €750 billion available in grants and loans. Next Generation EU would be further bolstered by the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027, raising the Union’s total financial capacity to €1.85 trillion. This is a significant boost to the European economy, with the Green Deal, among other initiatives, serving as a pillar of growth.

The European Green Deal, whose objective issocio-economic growth based on the change of the European energy modelThis presents itself as one of the opportunities that this health and economic crisis can offer European economies, which have a large energy sector industry with a strong commitment to innovation, research, and environmental impact. This industry also has the necessary mechanisms to help institutions make the leap to a green economy.

This plan will be discussed on June 19th, where it will require the support of all member states for its approval. Despite initial reservations from the so-called “frugal four,” which include the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, and Denmark, the European Parliament as a whole has optimistically embraced this recovery roadmap.

Regarding the main lines that this recovery plan would promote, and which would align with the main objectives of the Green Deal, the following points are included:

• A massivewave of renewalof our housing stock and infrastructure, and a greatercircular economythat create jobs on a local scale,
• The implementation of projectsrenewable energiesespecially wind or solar power, and of aclean hydrogen economya Europe,
• Cleaner transport and logistics, which include the installation of one million charging points for electric vehicles and the promotion of rail transport and clean mobility in our cities and regions,
• The reinforcement ofJust Transition Fundto support professional retraining and help businesses create new economic opportunities.

Thus, and according to information published by the European Commission itself, up to 30 billion euros would be mobilized for the so-called “Just Transition Fund”.