The European Parliament’s Liaison Office in Ireland along with the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), today hosted an event entitled ‘The EU’s Economic Recovery and Resilience: The Role of the European Parliament’.
This event took place on Thursday, 14 October from 1.00pm – 2.00pm with MEPs The European Parliament’s Liaison Office in Ireland along with the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), today hosted an event entitled ‘The EU’s Economic Recovery and Resilience: The Role of the European Parliament’.
This event took place on Thursday, 14 October from 1.00pm – 2.00pm with MEPs Frances Fitzgerald, Ciaran Cuffe and Dragoș Pîslaru. The panel was moderated by Professor Alan Barrett, CEO of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). This event is the first in a series ahead of the European Citizens’ Panel, which will be hosted by the IIEA in Dublin Castle on 3-5 December 2021, as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
On Friday, 16 July 2021, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen visited Ireland to announce the approval of almost €1 billion in funding to finance Ireland’s COVID-19 recovery. This funding is drawn from NextGenerationEU, the EU’s €800 billion recovery fund jointly negotiated by the Member States and the European Parliament as co-legislators, which aims to support a sustainable, equitable recovery across the EU as well as advance the green and digital transitions over the coming decades.
Speaking at today’s webinar MEP Frances Fitzgerald MEP said, “The European Parliament ensured that investments under the RRF were to be spent correctly on the sectors that really mattered as we recover from COVID-19. Crucially, Parliament ensured that there would be adequate scrutiny and transparency of spending - vital aspects to the RRF that may not make the headlines.”
“The RRF is about looking to the future. We need to constantly reinforce the message we want to build back better. That must be based on the key pillars of green, digital, but crucially, equality. I’m glad to see that the final agreement on the RRF has recognised the gender dimension of the COVID crisis and the differential impact that the crisis has had on women. The Parliament also insisted on the key targets of 37% spending on climate and 20% spending on digital.”
“We must build back better by investing in the green economy, care infrastructure, digital literacy, sustainable finance for SMEs and invest in our cities, such as Dublin, to make them more liveable.”
MEP Ciaran Cuffe said, “The Economic Recovery and Resilience Facility represents an opportunity for Europe to decide what kind of a society it wants to be. As we tease out the details of the European Green Deal in Brussels and Strasbourg, we must remember that the coming years represent an extraordinary opportunity for the EU to decarbonise and create green jobs. I am grateful to the IIEA for the opportunity to discuss this journey with my colleague Frances Fitzgerald MEP.”