Ambitious recovery plan essential to avoid long-term scars to EU economy

Today, BusinessEurope proposed urgent actions to kick-start Europe’s weakened economy. The proposals for a European Economic Recovery Plan include:

• an ambitious and coordinated fiscal stimulus to support demand and a rapid deployment of EU investment funds
• a revitalised and open single market and a strengthened single currency
• fair and free trade and investment and support for multilateral solutions
• strengthened EU governance to ensure EU financial support increases Member States’ implementation of growth and employment enhancing structural reforms and upward convergence.

BusinessEurope President Pierre Gattaz said:

“As it starts to emerge from the current shutdown, Europe will face a situation worse than in the Financial Crisis of 2008. We’ll face huge job losses, increased investment uncertainty, weakened government finances, and threats to both our single market and global trading system. If want to avoid weakening our economy and our society for a generation, our answer must be bold and rapid.

Kick-starting the EU economy will require a rapid, ambitious and coordinated fiscal stimulus to support demand, and in particular, business investment. EU funds must be rapidly deployed to support industrial investment, including delivering our green deal ambitions based on a feasible economic plan. We must develop a world class infrastructure including for transport, energy, IT, education and healthcare and make Europe a world leader in the development and application of digital technologies.”

BusinessEurope’s Director General Markus J. Beyrer said:

“We need rapid agreement on the next EU budget (MFF), including a dedicated EU recovery fund to bring new money to the table.  EU support for Member States’ public borrowing should be accompanied by a commitment by Member States to implement sustainable growth and employment enhancing reforms.

Safeguarding our successful manufacturing industry ecosystem and its services component is essential to overcome this crisis and only possible in a European single market without borders for capital, goods, services, and people.

This global crisis also requires strong international coordination both in the exit, as well as in the recovery phase, with a key role for multilateral institutions like the IMF, WHO and WTO.”