EU Recovery Fund - Will National Plans deliver the Green and Social Transformation we need?

Saturday, 29 May

14:30-15:45 CEST

With an total budgetary envelope of over 670 billion Euros in loans and grants, the European Recovery and Resilience Facility represents a substantial step forward for European Solidarity. It will provide crucial support for the countries hit the hardest by the economic and social impacts of the Corona-Pandemic.

The European Recovery Fund also presents a crucial opportunity to lead Europe towards the social and ecological transformation we so desperately need, and for which we Greens are advocating. But will the recovery fund be able to deliver on its Green and social promises? Will it lead the way towards a more sustainable, more digital and more resilient EU?

The answers will very much depend on the National Recovery Plans, which EU Member States are in the process of handing over to the European Commission for approval, and which will outline how they intend to use the EU’s financial support. This is reason enough for us Greens to take a closer look at the level of Green ambition in these plans -- to ask the question of how we can continue to push for the change we want to see; to exchange on building alliances in our common struggle; and to turn the EU Recovery Fund into a kick starter for the Green and social transformation.

Speakers:

		Ernest Urtasun, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-president of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament Barcelona 27/01/1982. BA in Economics, International Relations Diploma and concluded the Spanish Diplomatic Corps College. Actively political since 1998 with JEV, FYEG and EGP. 2004-2009 European Parliamentary Assistant; in 2010 joins the Diplomatic Corps working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; 2011-2014 is Diplomatic Advisor to the SecGen of UpM - Union for the Mediterranean. Elected MEP in 2014 as head of list for Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds and re-elected in 2019 as candidate for Catalunya en Comú. Member of the Parliamentary Committees Economic/Monetary Affairs, Women's Rights and Gender Equality, Subcommittee on Tax Matters and substitute of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook
		Lorenzo Fioramonti, MP, Italian Parliament Lorenzo Fioramonti is a professor of political economy and a member of Parliament in Italy. In 2018-2019, he was Deputy Minister and then Minister of Education, University and Research Twitter
		Timon Wehnert, Head Berlin Office, Wuppertal Institute Timon Wehnert is the Head of the Berlin Office of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. In his research, he on structural change and regional innovation systems in the context of climate policy-driven transition processes, such as the phase-out of coal and decarbonisation of the industrial sector. Among other issues, he coordinates the activities of the Wuppertal Institute within the greenrecoverytracker.org project, which assesses the climate mitigation impact of the EU Corona economic recovery packages.
		Małgorzata Tracz, Co-president of the Polish Green Party, MP, Polish Green Party (Zieloni) Malgorzata Tracz, co-president of the Polish Green Party since 2015 and member of parliament. Elected in November 2019 she is one of the first members of the Green Party in the Polish parliament. She is 35 years old. Her priorities are fighting against climate change and the degradation of the environment. In the last few years she has argued many times against breaking the rule of the law by the actual government. Malgorzata Tracz also focuses on equality and democracy in all aspects of our lives. A specialist who gives speeches and lectures on women’s rights, renewable energy and election law. Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook \| Website
		Felix Heilmann, Researcher, E3G Felix Heilmann works as a Researcher for the climate and energy think tank E3G. His areas of expertise include the political economy of climate action, the economic response to the Covid-19 crisis with a particular focus on the EU Recovery Facility, and the implications of the climate transition for the gas sector. He is E3G’s Lead Researcher on the Green Recovery Tracker, analysing the climate contribution of national recovery measures in EU member states. Felix holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford. Twitter
		Anelia Stefanova, Energy Transformation Leader, CEE Bankwatch Network Anelia joined Bankwatch in 2000 as the Bulgarian national coordinator in Bankwatch member group Za Zemiata (For the Earth). She has 20 years of experience in EU Cohesion funds monitoring and coordinating the Bankwatch campaign work on this topic. Since 2016 Anelia is leader of the Energy Transformation Strategic Area that focus on availability of financing for regional development that is accessible to most segments of society and supports transformation to a decentralized and community-owned energy systems.

Moderator:

Vula Tsetsi, Committee member, European Greens

Vula Tsetsi was elected to the Committee of the EGP in November 2019. In her mandate as Committee member, she is notably responsible for liaising with the EGP Southern Member Parties.

She is since 2004 the Secretary-General of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament and she has also been active with the Greens in Greece for many years.

She is dedicated to reinforcing the cooperation between the European Green family organisations, including the Green European Foundation, the Greens/EFA Group, and the Federation of Young European Greens.

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