European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has committed to a specific health programme, as well as indicating further support for the EU’s next research programme, Horizon Europe, as part of the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027. Addressing the European Parliament, President von der Leyen outlined some of the details of the “recovery plan”, which aims to strengthen the economy of the EU following the COVID-19 pandemic. The recovery plan will be based on the EU’s budget (the MFF), which will be increased through use of a recovery instrument, which will be “funded through a larger headroom”.
However, President von der Leyen did not unveil the size of the recovery instrument or the updated EU budget, while the European Parliament is asking for a package worth EUR 2 trillion (double that of the Commission’s previous proposal for the MFF 2021-2027). Speaking about the recovery plan, President von der Leyen explained that the Commission intended to strengthen elements which had “proved their worth” during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme as an example. In addition, she stated that a dedicated health programme would also be created. You can read President von der Leyen’s speech here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_20_877
