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  • 15-01-2021 18:17

EU/Presidency: Economic recovery main priority until June – Costa


Lisbon, Jan. 15, 2021 (Lusa) - The Portuguese prime minister said on Friday that economic recovery would be the first of the three main objectives of the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union, with all the financial instruments in operation by June.

António Costa took this position at a joint press conference with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Centro Cultural de Belém, where the plenary meeting between the Portuguese government and the college of commissioners was held.

"This Portuguese presidency comes at a very important moment in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which is having serious economic and social consequences," Costa said before praising the work done by the European institutions, in particular the Commission, in responding to the economic, social and health crisis.

According to Costa, in the three fundamental dimensions of the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union, "economic recovery is the main objective".

"We need to ensure that all the financial instruments conceived under the previous [German] presidency are operationalised as soon as possible. The European 'bazooka' [money from the European Recovery Fund] really has to be fired," he said.

In the short term,  Costa stressed that each national parliament must urgently approve the increase in the European Commission's own resources so that the joint debt issue can take place, the European Parliament must approve the final regulation of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, and all member states must present their national recovery plans in Brussels.

"This is the first major ambition of the Portuguese presidency", he stressed.

He then referred to the other two priorities of the Portuguese presidency: the development of the social pillar of the European Union and the "strengthening of Europe's strategic autonomy" in the world.  

"The drivers of recovery are the digital and climate transitions. They are great challenges, but also huge opportunities. These challenges imply strengthening the confidence of citizens and our businesses, in particular small and medium-sized ones, that Europe is capable of leading the climate and digital transition", he said.

In other words, according to Costa, "strengthening the social pillar is a way of assuring everyone that there are opportunities in this transition and that nobody will be left behind".

In relation to the "third dimension" of the Portuguese presidency, strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy, Costa said that that objective should allow this common political and economic area "to continue being open to the world.

"Therefore, it should strengthen partnerships with the Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods, Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom, increasing its presence in the Indo-Pacific region. We want to use this presidency to take the relationship between the European Union and India to a new level", he added.

PMF/ADB // AMG

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