The European Union’s recovery plan that has been adopted in response to the coronavirus crisis is a game changer in terms of European economic policy integration: NextGenerationEU is larger than any other stimulus package passed by the EU in previous crises. Together with the EU’s long-term budget a total of EUR 1.8 trillion will be spent to boost and modernize Europe’s economy with major priorities set in the areas of digitalization and climate change.

The implementation of recovery funds under the EU’s Covid-19 recovery program NextGenerationEU should be aligned with business cycle phases. This could ensure that financial support will have the most even and efficient impact across regions. This is one of the key conclusions derived from this EconPol Working Paper. The study analyzed the impact of the European Structural and Investment Funds on regional development over the period 1986–2018, identifying lessons for the EU's Covid recovery program NGEU.

The latest OECD tax reform will affect only 78 of the world’s 500 largest companies and only about 37 European companies, this EconPol Policy Brief reveals. The number of companies is so low, mainly because the tax applies only to companies with revenues above USD 20 billion which earn a rate of return on revenue above 10%. Reducing the revenue threshold for multinational companies from USD 20 billion to EUR 750 million would increase the number of companies affected by a factor of 13.

Economic upswing phases are strongly linked to a rise in CO2 emissions. The effect is strongest in countries that depend on energy-intensive sectors, this latest EconPol Working paper finds. The research further shows that an increase in the share of renewable energy in the primary energy supply during an upswing has the greatest impact on reducing CO2 emissions. According to the authors, the study’s results lead to an important conclusion: European environmental policy should be adjusted over the economic cycle, e.g. by introducing procyclical green taxation.  

The coronavirus crisis has led to the sharpest economic downturn in modern times and poses unparalleled challenges to policy both on a national and an EU level, as well as globally. The European Union has launched the ground-breaking Next Generation EU (NGEU) program, which involves common burden-sharing and explicitly aims to strengthen social cohesion within the European Union. If it succeeds, it will strengthen both the role of the European Union and cohesion within the European Union.