InvestigationA collective of European journalists, of which “Le Monde” is a part, has asked the European Commission for information on how the 723.8 billion euros of the recovery plan will be spent, often in vain.
On October 15, 2021, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, made a promise to Emily O’Reilly, the European Ombudsman: “You can be assured of our commitment to ensuring the transparency of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as we share your view that its full ownership by EU citizens is a prerequisite for its success. »
#RecoveryFiles: investigation into European recovery money
723.8 billion euros: the “recovery and resilience plan” initiated in 2021 is the largest sum ever released by the European Union. These loans and grants aim to revive the continent’s economy, shaken by the crisis caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, with the proclaimed objective of creating a Europe “greener” ” and “better adapted to current and future challenges”.
How was this plan developed? How will the money be spent? The #RecoveryFiles collectiveof which The world is a partner, has set itself the goal of investigating the many questions of public interest raised by the use of these colossal funds. This project, initiated by the independent Dutch platform Follow the Moneybrings together newsrooms from all over Europe, with the support of the fund IJ4EU (Investigative Journalism for Europe).
Mme Von der Leyen was referring to the European Union’s recovery plan, NextGenerationEU, endowed with 723.8 billion euros. Created in July 2020 to respond to the pandemic, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (FRR) is an unprecedented solidarity instrument, allocating a specific amount to each Member State. Nearly half of these sums, some 338 billion euros, will be paid in the form of grants (including 40 billion for France), the rest being available in the form of optional low-interest loans.
To access these funds, EU member states had to submit ambitious plans to Brussels. Some include controversial reforms, but the national parliaments of most member states were not involved in their development. How will the money be spent, and will it actually contribute to the promised goal of building more resilient, modern and climate-friendly economies?
Who evaluates the evaluators?
To closely monitor the use of these funds and check whether these promises are kept, the independent Dutch information platform Follow the Money brought together a pan-European team of investigative journalists, under the banner #RecoveryFiles. However, team members have already faced delays, obstacles and even outright obstruction when trying to exercise their EU right of access to documents relating to the recovery plan. While extolling, on paper, the importance of transparency, the European Commission refuses to disclose hundreds of documents, putting forward arguments judged “absurd” Where “poorly put together” by the experts called upon as part of the investigation.
To understand the importance of the subject, a little backtracking is necessary. To ensure that European recovery money helps to make European economies more resilient, member states have agreed that disbursements will be linked to a mechanism for monitoring progress. The money is not paid out automatically: everyone must submit a plan outlining what they intend to do with their share of the billions, as well as the reforms they plan to deploy to make their economy more robust, especially in the face of climate change. . The European Commission has the task of evaluating these proposals. But who evaluates the evaluators?
You have 84.38% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.