European Economic Recovery PlanEuropean Economic Recovery PlanEERR_17bac439-0de7-4278-83a0-ee09bc3c558bRespond to the current economic situation._467bd57c-4975-4f70-b8f1-37597a4ad14dConsumer Confidence and DemandSwiftly stimulate demand and boost consumer confidence._c848d3d8-721f-4fad-bcb8-d9ac7a10a60b1Labour DemandCreate demand for labour._0c5950b0-ea5c-4eb4-9d1e-a3287b486b0e2– Member States should consider reducing employers' social charges on lower incomes to promote the employability of lower skilled workers. Member States should also consider the introduction of innovative solutions (e.g. service cheques for household and child care, temporary hiring subsidies for vulnerable groups), which have already been successfully pioneered in parts of the Union; – The Council should adopt, before the 2009 Spring European Council, the proposed directive to make permanent reduced VAT rates for labour-intensive services.Economic Downturn and Human CostsLessen the human cost of the economic downturn and its impact on the most vulnerable._b78901f1-d734-499b-95b6-aab82efa1d2a2Many workers and their families are or will be hit by the crisis. Action can be taken to help stem the loss of jobs; and then to help people return rapidly to the labour market, rather than face long-term unemployment.Employment SupportLaunch a major European employment support initiative_f0af65cb-5576-4803-bc3e-dce6f1e2085c1a) The Commission is proposing to simplify criteria for European Social Fund (ESF) support and step up advance payments from early 2009, so that Member States have earlier access to up to € 1.8 bn in order to: – Within flexicurity strategies, rapidly reinforce activation schemes, in particular for the low-skilled, involving personalised counselling, intensive (re-)training and upskilling of workers, apprenticeships, subsidised employment as well as grants for self-employment, business start-up's and – Refocus their programmes to concentrate support on the most vulnerable, and where necessary opt for full Community financing of projects during this period; – Improve the monitoring and matching of skills development and upgrading with existing and anticipated job vacancies; this will be implemented in close cooperation with social partners, public employment services and universities; Working with Member States, the Commission proposes to re-programme ESF expenditure to ensure that immediate priorities are met. b) The Commission will also propose to revise the rules of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund so that it can intervene more rapidly in key sectors, either to cofinance training and job placements for those who are made redundant or to keep in the labour market skilled workers who will be needed once the economy starts to recover. The Commission will review the budgetary means available for the Fund in the light of the implementation of the revised rules.Competitiveness and Future NeedsHelp Europe to prepare to take advantage when growth returns so that the European economy is in tune with the demands of competitiveness and the needs of the future, as outlined in the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. _52e732a6-216e-40cb-bce7-717db06863623That means pursuing the necessary structural reforms, supporting innovation, and building a knowledge economy.Business FinancingEnhance access to financing for business._f158cf58-af7c-41e3-8a9b-1cd22ea227c83– The EIB has put together a package of € 30 bn for loans to SME's, an increase by € 10 billion over its usual lending in this sector; – The EIB will also reinforce by € 1 bn a year its lending to mid-sized corporations, a key sector of the EU economy. Furthermore, an additional € 1 billion will be conferred by the EIB to the EIF for a mezzanine finance facility; – The Commission will put in place a simplification package, notably to speed up its State aid decision-making. Any state aid should be channelled through horizontal schemes designed to promote the Lisbon objectives, notably research, innovation, training, environmental protection and in particular clean technologies, transport and energy efficiency. The Commission will temporarily authorise Member States to ease access to finance for companies through subsidised guarantees and loan subsidies for investments in products going beyond EU environmental standards.Entrepreneurship and Administrative BurdensReduce administrative burdens and promote entrepreneurship._ec8f343f-4a06-43c3-8ae2-e6dc02b414f84Building on the Small Business Act, and in order significantly reduce administrative burdens on business, promote their cash flow and help more people to become entrepreneurs, the EU and Member States should: – Ensure that starting up a business anywhere in the EU can be done within three days at zero costs and that formalities for the hiring of the first employee can be fulfilled via a single access point; – Remove the requirement on micro-enterprises to prepare annual accounts (the estimated savings for these companies are € 7bn per year) and limit the capital requirements of the European private company to one euro; – Accelerate the adoption of the European private company statute proposal so that from early 2009 it can facilitate cross border business activities of SMEs and to allow them to work under a single set of corporate rules across the EU; – Ensure that public authorities pay invoices, including to SMEs, for supplies and services within one month to ease liquidity constraints and accept e-invoicing as equivalent to paper invoicing (this could deliver cost reductions of up to 18 € Bn); any arrears owed by public bodies should also be settled; – Reduce by up to 75% the fees for patent applications and maintenance and halve the costs for an EU trademark.InfrastructureStep up investments to modernise Europe's infrastructure._8d5af3a5-8a38-44b6-b36d-2597bd1bd22b5– For at least the next two years, the EU budget is unlikely to spend the full amount set out in the financial framework. Therefore, for 2009 and 2010, the Commission proposes to mobilise an additional € 5 bn for trans-European energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure projects. To make this happen, Council and Parliament will need to agree to revise the financial framework, while remaining within the limits of the current budget; – With a financial envelope of over € 347 bn for 2007-2013, cohesion policy provides considerable support to public investment by Member States and regions. However, there is a risk that pressure on national budgets will slow down the rate of planned investment. To give an immediate boost to the economy, the implementation of the structural funds should be accelerated. To this end: – The Commission will propose to increase its pre-financing of programmes to make up to € 4.5 bn available earlier in 2009; – Member States should use the available flexibility to frontload the financing of projects by enhancing the part financed by the Community; – The Commission will propose a number of other measures designed to bring forward the implementation of major investment projects, to facilitate the use of financial engineering funds, to simplify the treatment of advances paid to the beneficiaries and to widen the possibilities for eligible expenditure on a flat rate basis for all the funds. The Commission underlines the need for early adoption of these proposals. – By the end of March 2009 the Commission will launch a €500 million call for proposals for trans-European transport (TEN-T) projects where this money would lead to construction beginning before the end of 2009. This will bring forward existing funds that would have been reallocated by the mid-term review of the multiannual TEN-T programme in 2010; – In parallel, the EIB will significantly increase its financing of climate change, energy security and infrastructure investments by up to € 6 bn per year, while also accelerating the implementation of the two innovative financial instruments jointly developed with the Commission, i.e. the Risk Sharing Finance Facility to support R&D and the Loan Guarantee Instrument for TEN-T projects to stimulate greater participation of the private sector; – The EBRD will more than double its efforts for energy efficiency, climate change mitigation and financing for municipalities and other infrastructure services. This could lead through the mobilisation of private sector financing to € 5 bn investments.Innovation, Education, and R&DIncrease investment in R&D , Innovation and Education_29fd6518-d852-43dd-9b80-3c700aff86958Member States and the private sector should increase planned investments in education and R&D (consistent with their national R&D targets) to stimulate growth and productivity. They should also consider ways to increase private sector R&D investments, for example, by providing fiscal incentives, grants and/or subsidies. Member States should maintain investments to increase the quality of education.InternetHigh-speed Internet for all._4db59a9a-5578-4236-a558-5f2c2cc958c310High-speed Internet connections promote rapid technology diffusion, which in turn creates demand for innovative products and services. Equipping Europe with this modern infrastructure is as important as building the railways in the nineteenth century. To boost Europe's lead in fixed and wireless communications and accelerate the development of high value-added services, the Commission and Member States should work with stakeholders to develop a broadband strategy to accelerate the up-grading and extension of networks. The strategy will be supported by public funds in order to provide broadband access to under-served and high cost areas where the market cannot deliver. The aim should be to reach 100% coverage of high speed internet by 2010. In addition, and also with a view to upgrading the performance of existing networks, Member States should promote competitive investments in fibre networks and endorse the Commission's proposals to free up spectrum for wireless broadband. Using the funding mentioned in action 5 above, the Commission will channel an additional € 1 bn to these network investments in 2009/10.Low Carbon EconomySpeed up the shift towards a low carbon economy. _3bed5fe9-112f-474e-aec2-dce79f335c9d4This will leave Europe well placed to apply its strategy for limiting climate change and promoting energy security: a strategy which will encourage new technologies, create new 'green-collar' jobs and open up new opportunities in fast growing world markets, will keep energy bills for citizens and businesses in check, and will reduce Europe's dependence on foreign energy.BuildingsImprove energy efficiency in buildings._808ab202-7e3d-4cd7-9e2f-a0ca7442ce656Acting together, Member States and EU Institutions should take urgent measures to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock and public buildings and promote rapid take up of 'green' products: – Member States should set demanding targets for ensuring that public buildings and both private and social housing meet the highest European energy-efficiency standards and make them subject to energy certification on a regular basis. To facilitate reaching their national targets, Member States should consider introducing a reduction of property tax for energy-performing buildings. The Commission has just tabled proposals4 for a major upgrading in the energy efficiency of buildings and calls on the Council and Parliament to give priority to their adoption; – In addition, Member States should re-programme their structural funds operational programmes' to devote a greater share to energy-efficiency investments, including where they fund social housing. To widen possibilities, the Commission is proposing an amendment to the Structural Funds Regulations to support this move and stresses the need for early adoption of the amendments; – The Commission will work with the EIB and a number of national development banks to launch a 2020 fund for energy, climate change and infrastructure to fund equity and quasi-equity projects; – The Commission calls on Member States and industry urgently to develop innovative financing models, for example, where refurbishments are financed through repayments, based on savings made on energy bills, over several years.Green ProductsPromote the rapid take-up of "green products"._c7f33253-df20-4e8b-b920-bd8318d9bacd7– The Commission will propose reduced VAT rates for green products and services, aimed at improving in particular energy efficiency of buildings. It encourages Member States to provide further incentives to consumers to stimulate demand for environmentally-friendly products; – In addition, Member States should rapidly implement environmental performance requirements for external power supplies, stand-by and off mode electric power consumption, set top boxes and fluorescent lamps; – The Commission will urgently draw up measures for other products which offer very high potential for energy savings such as televisions, domestic lighting, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, boilers and air-conditioners.Cars and ConstructionDeveloping clean technologies for cars and construction._e56ccc91-e33c-47ff-9789-b5c325e525729To support innovation in manufacturing, in particular in the construction industry and the automobile sector which have recently seen demand plummet as a result of the crisis and which also face significant challenges in the transition to the green economy, the Commission proposes to launch 3 major partnerships between the public and private sectors: – In the automobile sector, a 'European green cars initiative', involving research on a broad range of technologies and smart energy infrastructures essential to achieve a breakthrough in the use of renewable and non-polluting energy sources, safety and traffic fluidity. The partnership would be funded by the Community, the EIB, industry and Member States' contributions with a combined envelope of at least € 5 bn. In this context, the EIB would provide cost-based loans to car producers and suppliers to finance innovation, in particular in technologies improving the safety and the environmental performance of cars, e.g. electric vehicles. Demand side measures such as a reduction by Member States of their registration and circulation taxes for lower emission cars, as well as efforts to scrap old cars, should be integrated into the initiative. In addition, the Commission will support the development of a procurement network of regional and local authorities to pool demand for clean buses and other vehicles and speed up the implementation of the CARS21 initiative; – In the construction sector, a 'European energy-efficient buildings' initiative, to promote green technologies and the development of energy-efficient systems and materials in new and renovated buildings with a view to reducing radically their energy consumption and CO2 emissions5. The initiative should have an important regulatory and standardisation component and would involve a procurement network of regional and local authorities. The estimated envelope for this partnership is € 1bn. The initiative would be backed by specific actions proposed under actions 5 and 6 on infrastructure and energy-efficiency; – To increase the use of technology in manufacturing, "a factories of the future initiative": The objective is to help EU manufacturers across sectors, in particular SMEs, to adapt to global competitive pressures by increasing the technological base of EU manufacturing through the development and integration the enabling technologies of the future, such as engineering technologies for adaptable machines and industrial processes, ICT, and advanced materials. The estimated envelope for this action is € 1.2 bn.2008-11-262010-02-08http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/pdf/european-dimension-200812-annual-progress-report/200812-annual-report_en.pdfArthurColman (www.drybridge.com)colman@drybridge.com