European Council Summit
Quotes from Ska Keller and Philippe Lamberts
EU leaders will meet (Friday 19 June) to discuss the recovery fund to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Ahead of tomorrow's European Council summit, the leaders of the main pro-European groups in the European Parliament have written a joint letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The letter calls on the EUCO summit to sign-up to the Plan for the Recovery of Europe and agree to the idea of introducing new own resources.
President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, Ska Keller MEP, comments on the upcoming European Council:
"This EUCO should be used by heads of state and government to over-fulfil everybody’s expectations and in fact make real progress on the recovery plan. It has been months of haggling and delaying so far. What we need to see is a fast, decisive and courageous action now. Everybody knows that to mitigate the economic impact of the crisis, the EU needs to have and provide substantial funds.
"For those funds to have a long-lasting positive impact for all Europeans, it is vital that we invest into the future and into overcoming challenges that we face today, such as the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and social inequality. It is the national interest of every single Member State to have a strong European Union, for their citizens and their economy."
Philippe Lamberts MEP, President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, adds:
"This crisis requires real action and real solutions not just talk. We have good proposals on the table, from the Parliament and from the Commission and now it's time for the Member States to do their part. While the numbers proposed in the Commission's recovery plan don't go as far as what MEPs called for, it's the bare minimum that Members States should sign up to, in order to start the recovery.
"The heads of states and government must stick to the proposal for grants instead of loans, in order for the recovery to be sustainable. Governments should commit to investing in long-term projects that push forward the social and ecological transformation of our economy."
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Ska Keller will follow the European Council summit on behalf of the Greens/EFA group. Should you wish to arrange interviews, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
