Climate & Strategy Partners, E3G, EERA, EUREC and Jacques Delors Institute welcome the European Commission’s recent proposal to fund a green and just recovery, as described on 28th May. If the EU is ready to borrow €750bn and engage the €1.1tn MFF for a green recovery then it needs to ensure investments – public and private – will indeed go in that direction. If not, discrepancies between member states and incoherence with EU policy priorities, like Green Deal, will deliver a shallow and fragile recovery, potentially locking in stranded assets for future generations.

Research & Innovation (R&I) is a key driver for economic development and resilience. Ensuring that sufficient investments are made in green R&I is one of the strongest ways for the European Commission to ensure that the recovery is effective and sustainable. The letters propose concrete R&I-related EU policy actions to:

• Ensure the European Green Deal and National Energy and Climate Plans, guide Member States’ Recovery and Resilience Plans
• Lever the EIB’s Energy Lending Policy and the ‘Do no harm’ principle.
• Reinforce the EU budget’s ability to boost the bloc’s research and innovation ecosystem
• Green Recovery Bond issuance
• Reinforce Smart Specialisation Platforms with Climate R&I in CEE region

Download the letters below and learn more about specific R&I-related EU policy actions to strengthen and accelerate the economic recovery.

Letter to Executive Vice President Vestager

Letter to Executive Vice President Dombrovskis

Letter to Executive Vice President Timmermans