EU proposes pandemic recovery budgets for 2022
The European Parliament has tabled a proposal for the European Union budget for 2022. The destination of these budgets will be key for the member states, as the main objective is to allocate a large part of this money to the recovery of employment and the continent's foundations, after the recent coronavirus pandemic. MEPs have earmarked 171.8 billion for this, with 521 votes in favour of the new projects, 88 against and 84 abstentions.
Since July, the EU has been distributing a series of aid for the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, with Italy, Spain and France receiving the most money. The former will receive 81.74 billion euros, followed by Spain with 81.606 million euros and France with 43.953 million euros. In total, Europe plans to disburse nearly 400 billion euros in direct and non-refundable aid to improve the economy and boost sectors that have been affected during the quarantine months and beyond
Croatian politician and Member of the European Parliament since 2019, Karlo Ressler, said: "I firmly believe that with this new package we would succeed in meeting the expectations of European citizens, which are very understandably high. The key elements are the restoration of arbitrary cuts in the salaries of Council members, to support the driving force of the recovery and the European economy of small and medium-sized enterprises. Secondly, to strengthen future-oriented programmes for young people and children. Finally, to strengthen Europe's health systems and to drive forward the changes towards a digital, green and secure Europe".
With this budget, MEPs also intend to invest in other programmes and policies. One of their plans is to allocate part of this money, some 305 million euros, to the Horizon Europe research programme; 207 million euros to "Connecting Europe", a plan to build a trans-European network for transport, energy and digital networks; and 171 million euros to the LIFE programme to combat climate change. MEPs also highlighted the importance of the Erasmus+ plan and support for young people, increasing the available funds by 137 million euros, as well as the European Children's Guarantee project. The next step will be to allocate 80 million euros to strengthen the health systems of the member states, as well as to improve them. The COVAX initiative, which works to ensure that the entire world's population has access to the new COVID-19 vaccines, will also be strengthened. In security, the continent's lines of defence will be increased by 80 million euros.
Another focus has been on humanitarian aid funding, and the plan is to increase the Asylum, Migration and Integration project by 20%, especially now that we are aware of the bad situation in Afghanistan. Since mid-August this year, when the Taliban regained control of the country in a coup d'état, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have had to flee their homes for fear of the new Taliban regime, which is intended to be the same or worse than the one in place during the late 1990s and early 21st century.
They are all proposals, which will be discussed and debated for three weeks until agreement is reached on setting these budgets for next year, which must then be voted on in parliament and, if they get the green light, signed by the president.