Nordic-Baltic business confederations believe that it is essential that Next Generation EU funds are dedicated to long-term investments, rather than to filling budgetary gaps.
The EU Recovery funds, made available through Next Generation EU, will be a fundamental part of ensuring Europe’s economic reboot following the COVID-19 pandemic. Used correctly, these will help reinforce European competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth and economic renewal, by accelerating the essential green and digital transitions.
This is why Nordic-Baltic business confederations believe that it is essential that Next Generation EU funds are dedicated to long-term investments, rather than to filling budgetary gaps. Funds used in one Member State should reinforce and strengthen the EU Single Market. It is also crucial to ensure transparency on how the funds are being distributed through Next Generation EU.
To ensure that the considerable resources available through Next Generation EU fully contribute to sustainable growth and job creation, Nordic-Baltic business suggests that the European Commission establishes a Recovery Scoreboard. This will help follow up on the distribution and the use of funds, as well as providing a route for disseminating best practice from those countries where the funds are being used.
Having determined the principle criteria for allocating Recovery Fund resources, with a clear focus on competitiveness, job creation and the green and digital transition, we urge the European Commission to:
• Monitor closely that Member States meet the required objectives and follow up accordingly.
• Ensure that national measures are reported and separately recorded in national budgets, in order to ensure full transparency.
• Define quantifiable goals for an EU Recovery Scoreboard.
• Make the Scoreboard - continuously updated - publicly available.
• Incorporate the Scoreboard into the European Semester and the European Commission’s regular reviews.