“Wiederaufbaufonds”: Zahlen und Wirkung

• “The EU will, through a Fund outside its budget, borrow a total of €750 billion to be distributed to its members as grants and loans in 2021-2023. Grants will total €390 billion and loans €360 billion. Most of the funds, €672.5 billion, will be channeled through the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The remaining €77.5 billion will be distributed through different funds, like the European Social Fund.” – bto: Es sind unstrittig enorme Summen, die hin- und hergeschoben werden. Vor allem machen sie die EU sehr mächtig. 
• “Member states guarantee repayment of the loan through the EU budget. This budgetary funding requires unanimity while the Fund can be created through majority decision.” – bto: Wir haften also alle und das ist nicht auf die leichte Schulter zu nehmen.
• “Despite the Fund being nominally created to combat the effects of the coronavirus, its distribution criteria show scant relationship to this. Of all grants, €77.5 billion are distributed through already existing EU programs. Of the remaining €312.5 billion, about 70% are distributed among member states according to population size, size of GDP per capita and unemployment during the (pre-Covid) period 2015-2019. Criteria for distributing the remaining 30% are population size, real GDP per capita, and loss in real GDP in 2020 and the absolute decline in real GDP during 2020 and 2021 calculated in equal portions. Grants are thus primarily distributed to states with economic problems having nothing to do with the coronavirus.” – bto: Es war eine gelungene Erpressung jener Länder, die schon immer eine Umverteilung wollten.
• “The Fund can therefore be characterized as an income transfer fund serving primarily countries which have had permanent problems with their economic policies. The largest recipients, from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, are:

– Italy: €65 billion (approx. 7% of 2020 government budget)

– Spain: €59 billion (approx. 11% of 2020 government budget)

– France: €37 billion. (approx. 3% of 2020 government budget)

– Poland: €23 billion. (approx. 10% of 2020 government budget)

– Greece: €16 billion. (approx. 18 % of 2020 government budget)”

– bto: Das bedarf  keines Kommentars.

• “As this will come on top of already huge debt stimulus enacted by practically all European countries, it will diminish the stimulative effect of the Fund considerably. It’s also highly questionable whether the funds will find their way into productive investments.” – bto: Natürlich ist das zweifelhaft, siehe auch die Kritik italienischer Ökonomen an diesen Zahlungen.
• “The Fund profoundly changes the way the EU functions. It increases joint debt of the member states and the income transfers between them. Greater joint financial responsibilities strengthen ties to the EU which is important particularly to constrain countries not willing to accept the new emerging principles and aims. Finally, it changes the role of income transfers in the EU, where they have previously consisted primarily of farming subsidies.” – bto: Es ist der Verlust an Souveränität und außerdem vor allem für Deutschland ein gigantisches Wagnis.
• “Article 125 forbids the EU from assuming commitments of member states. Measures by the EU to reduce budget deficits of member states, for instance through grants, are accordingly not allowed. The Article also restricts member states from taking responsibility for each others’ liabilities, thus disallowing any development towards a fiscal union.” – bto: Das wird so gesehen. Aber unsere Politiker sagen, es ist alles ohne Vertragsänderung möglich.
• “Article 310 requires that the EU budget be in balance, and that expenditures are financed exclusively by current income. However, the Fund means that part of EU expenditures will be debt-financed.” – bto: Und für den Klimaschutz werden alle Dämme brechen.
• “Article 122 allows the above principles of the Agreement to be put aside in the case of severe difficulties. Such difficulties are usually exemplified by natural catastrophes or other exceptional circumstances. For example, German legal experts have questioned whether a rule referring to single member states can be used as a basis for the Fund or for building a debt-financed EU budget.” – bto: Nicht nur die Deutschen  glauben – und hier die Finnen –,  dass es jemanden schert, was in den Verträgen steht.

→ reaction.life: „EU Recovery Fund is fiscal union by the back door“, 12. Februar 2021