It makes sense therefore to accelerate the green transition to support a recovery from Covid-19. When European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the “European green deal” in December 2019, she heralded it as Europe’s “man-on-the-moon” moment, a reference to US president John F Kennedy’s famous 1961 moonshot promise. To support a recovery, the EU budget will, in this way, redistribute spending power not just across borders but also across time. As the EU bank, the EIB will play a leading role in supporting both the recovery plan and the European green deal. To be clear, the commission’s recovery plan – and its reinforcement of the European green deal – is not a quick fix for the Covid-19 economic crisis.

Source: The Irish Times June 27, 2020 05:00 UTC