Zur Lage der Europäischen Union

Die Welt ändert sich, neue geopolitische Herausforderungen tun sich auf. Wir sollten darauf vorbereitet sein.

By: Georg Vobruba
NextGenerationEU (NGEU) is not the first EU bond programme of the European Commission, but it differs significantly from all its predecessors in terms of volume, earmarking, and issuance technique. The reactions on the capital market show great interest in bonds issued by the European Union, and this speaks for the continuation of the European Commission's debt competence as well as the formation of new institutions for its management. The expectation that NGEU offers an instrument against problematic developments in individual EU member states might work in the same sense, but nevertheless, EU community debt is not a panacea for all kinds of problems, argues the author of this Policy Brief. Against this background, he analyses the interests working towards a stabilisation of debt competence and the question of whether community debt could be the appropriate mode of financing for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Progress has been made in all areas of the Green Deal, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reversing biodiversity loss and advancing the circular economy. However, Europe needs to show leadership and prove to the world that despite the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, it continues to pursue a socially just path towards climate neutrality by reinventing its model for a social market economy.