Ursula von der Leyen presents Europe's moment: Repair and prepare for the next generation

Coronavirus: Von der Leyen calls €750bn recovery fund 'Europe's moment'. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-p... major recovery fund worth €750bn (£670bn; $825bn) has been proposed by the EU's executive Commission to help the EU tackle an "unprecedented crisis". https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-p... The package will be made up of grants and loans for every EU member state. #eudebates #EUGreenDeal #InvestmentPlan #EuropeanGreenDeal #GreenDeal #ClimateChange #Climate #vdLcommission #earth #JustTransitionFund #UrsulavonderLeyen #FransTimmermans #Timmermans https://www.eudebates.tv/tag/vdlcommi... Mr President, Honourable Members, Europe is a story about generations. And each generation of Europeans has its own story. For our Union's founding generation, the story was about building a lasting peace where there was only suffering, pain and destruction. For the generation that followed, it was about pursuing prosperity and freedom by choosing the unity of our single market and our single currency. Our next story was about reuniting our European family by bringing our brothers and sisters back in from the cold and welcoming them home - to the heart of our Union. All those generations, and all those historic achievements, were built on the ones before and inspired the ones after. Honourable Members, Allow me to explain how Next Generation EU will work. The money will be raised by temporarily lifting the own resources ceiling, to allow the Commission to use its very strong credit rating to borrow money on the financial markets. This is an urgent and exceptional necessity for an urgent and exceptional crisis. This is why Next Generation EU will: Invest in repairing our social fabric, Protect our Single Market. Help rebalance balance sheets across Europe. And while we are doing this, we need to press fast-forward towards a green, digital and resilient future. This is the future of Europe's next Generation. This generation that is globally connected and feels responsible for our world, our planet. With a clear vision to promote human dignity and the rule of law. Determined to hold governments more accountable for fighting climate change and saving our nature. Driven by idealism for Europe and a belief that our Union must strive for better. So, beyond showing solidarity to overcome the crisis of today, I propose a new Generational Pact for tomorrow. But we will do it in a way that Europe's next generation will reap the benefits tomorrow. Investments that will not only preserve the outstanding achievements of the last 70 years, but that will ensure that our Union is climate neutral digital social and a strong global player also in the future. To make this happen, Next Generation EU will direct its massive financial firepower to invest in our common priorities through European programmes. I am always keen to ensure that this House has its full say on crucial decisions for our Union. My proposal to invest these funds via programmes in our European budget achieves exactly that. Next Generation EU will help those perfectly healthy companies that have made the right decisions and investments over decades – but that find themselves at risk now because competitors in other Member States have better access to public or private money to get fresh capital. It will invest in key European industries and technologies to make crucial supply chains more resilient. It will ensure Europe remains cutting-edge in key areas like Artificial Intelligence, precision farming or green engineering. And Next Generation EU will help make our health systems more resilient for future crises. This investment will be a new European common good. Honourable Members, Now is the time to take the right decision. To those who fear the cost of investment, I say that the cost on inaction will be much more expensive down the road. Together we must lay the foundations for our future. And we must make sure that our response lives up to this clearly defined, accidental and truly extraordinary crisis. So I say let's put our old prejudices to one side. And let's rediscover the power of the idea of a united Europe. The crisis we have to tackle is enormous. But it is also huge opportunity for Europe. And it is a huge responsibility for us to do the right in this defining moment. We can now lay the cornerstone for a Union which is climate neutral, digital and more resilient than ever before. Seventy years ago our founding fathers and mothers took the first courageous step to create a Union of peace and prosperity. Today is the time to write our generation's chapter to the story and take another courageous step towards a stronger Union. We owe it to future generations. Long live Europe!