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How is Europe financing the pandemic recovery with the sale of billions of dollars in bonds?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

This section of the Real Economy’ discusses what AB’'s recovery plans mean for jobs and businesses in Europe’ and how they are financed by the issuance of billions of euros in bonds.

EuropeProtection of employment in ’

Thanks to the European Commission's SURE initiative, which supports ’'s government's permission plans, an estimated 1.5 to 2.5 million businesses in Europe’ were able to employ their employees during the pandemic.

In 18 countries receiving SURE funding, it helped 25 to 30 million workers not lose their jobs during the pandemic.

SURE’'s goal was to protect jobs during the crisis. The next step is AB’'s recovery plan, known as the Next Generation EU, which is scheduled to be implemented in the coming weeks.

How are AB’'s rescue packages funded?

AB’'s SURE and NextGenerationEU rescue packages help countries build more resilient economies after the COVID-19 pandemic.

To finance them, the European Union will issue bonds of up to 850 billion euros (900 billion euros at current prices) over the next 5 years. Debt at the European level means that the economies of all EU countries benefit.

This is the first time the EU has borrowed on such a large scale, making it the new major player in the government bond market.

This also helps to support the euro's international position.

AB’'s high credit rating and ability to guarantee debt mean investors are safer when buying EU bonds. These include social and green bonds; This means that the funds really serve a social or green goal and will be repaid by 2058.

How do recovery packages help businesses?

Slovenia is one of 18 countries that have benefited from the SURE fund and receives 1.1 billion euros as an emergency loan.

In 2010, after living in ’, Greg Yurkovich returned to his hometown of ’, Slovenia, to open two pizza restaurants in the capital Ljubljana’.

Greg YurkovichOne of ’'s pizza restaurants

A year after the opening of his second restaurant, Greg’in had thirty staff; Then the epidemic broke out, and the first lockdown forced its employees to stay home for six weeks.

Greg wanted to retain his team and skills for as long as possible.

Greg Yurkovich, general manager and executive chief of Pop’s Place’, “The thing is, we had to employ these people for a variety of reasons. Again, it's our obligation, but also in the event that we open up. What happens if these people are released? How do we ensure the continuity of the work? said ”.

Greg Yurkovich, one of ’'s employees, speaks to euronews’e

The Slovenian government, in part thanks to AB’'s SURE program, has provided subsidies to employers like Greg to keep their employees on payroll until they are reopened.

**
Investors' interest in EU bonds**

Guillaume Menuet, a leading eurozone economist at Citigroup’, explained how this could work.

“ For every euro we spend, we hope we can get two, three, four euros back in five or ten years, depending on investment preferences.

“ This loan will naturally be paid out through increased economic growth, but also through the new forms of taxation that AB’ is currently bringing up.

We will wait and see what the next EU budget will bring, “ added, before worrying about it.

Interview with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Management.

Naomi Lloyd of Real Economy’ spoke to Commissioner Hahn’ about his recovery plans and started by asking him when he thought the commission would start borrowing for the fund.

“Biz is ready at the beginning of June from our own perspective. And hopefully, so far there's nothing pushing this as a goal, we can start opening up to capital markets at the beginning of the second term, ” said.

European Commissioner for Budget and Management Johannes Hahn

About the challenges ahead

When asked about possible difficulties with the timeline, the German court ruled that it was unconstitutional, and Poland threatened not to ratify it.

Hahn, “, I'm pretty sure this will be approved by Karlsruhe, too, –, but first of all, it's important that they lift their reservations. I'm also sure this will be done on time. If you're in politics, you have to be optimistic, and I'm usually right about that, ” said.

About Next Generation AB’ye investor interest

Hahn, “As a result, there was a great deal of interest and there is a great deal of interest because they also see euro’yu and the European Union’ni as a safe asset, a safe haven. And at times like this, it's very important. There is also a strong interest in creating an alternative to the dollar, apparently not in a competitive way, but in a way that really has alternatives, ” added.

Naomi Lloyd speaks with Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Management at the European Commission’

On the impact of Euro’ on the international world

I think the “ effect will be huge. That is, we will issue at least 800 billion in euro-denominated bonds, and this is a size we have never done in the past, and this will certainly have a huge impact on the role of the euro. It will also strengthen the euro as a real alternative currency in the worldwide capital market. That's why it also has a very strong economic but also political influence. - ”

Economy of Gig: Flexible freedom or wage slavery?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

If you've used an app to order late-night food delivery or call a plumber, you've probably benefited from the platform's economy. This is one of the most important new transformations in the business world. And right now the biggest discussion in Europe’ is on working conditions.

Digital platform studies, also known as gig economy, have increased five-fold in the last decade.

It is where individuals offer specific services organized through a digital platform that connects them with customers.

This can be a location-based app that allocates jobs such as food delivery, taxi or plumbing services, or web-based platforms that outsource jobs such as translation or graphic design.

Platforms create new business opportunities. But there are challenges in ensuring good working conditions and algorithms treat workers fairly.

‘Concert economics’ or ‘platform studyHow has ’ grown over the past decade?

The platform works: To edit or not to edit?

This new model of platform work has left governments undecided on how to regulate it. Spain became the first EU country to pass a law classifying food delivery passengers as employees with social protection.

Fanny Gauret went to meet some food distributors in Barcelona’ to get their opinion.

Fanny met two young deliverymen who knew the streets of Barcelona by heart, one carrying food or packages on a scooter and the other on a bicycle. Both are self-employed and their situation is expected to change in the coming months.

The new law, submitted to the Council of Ministers, will classify all passengers working on distribution platforms as employees. They will have access to benefits such as unemployment benefits, vacation or sick leave. It was a relief for this young South American rider who wanted to keep his name a secret.

The self-employed driver, who did not give his name, explains: “What the government recommends to these companies is that they give us minimum wage, sick leave, life insurance, and a tool so that we can work properly.” “Because sometimes we work up to 12 hours a day to get less than the minimum wage.”

This young man is paid by delivery according to the prices set by the platform. He says that because he can't afford to buy a motorcycle, the fact that he works on a bicycle is a big disadvantage.

“I've never earned €1,000 a month. It's hard to do that on a bike. Because you have to work long hours, it's exhausting. If you do not connect to the platform, do something wrong, cancel many orders, they will cancel your account.”

Minimum wage, work accident insurance or checking for profile cancellations are what many drivers are hoping for with this law.

“Freedom and flexibility”

Spain’ already has some delivery platforms that use the fee model. But Jordi Mateo, who works 40 to 50 hours a week, prefers to remain independent:

Mateo, “When I look at what competitor companies are doing with employees, I think I'll have a 15- or 20-hour contract, which will hurt a lot, on the one hand, the freedom and flexibility I have today, as well as my income, which will greatly decrease, ” says.

Working on a scooter for various platforms, Spain is pleased to earn more than ’'s minimum wage (around €1,100 gross per month). However, it will welcome improvements such as being able to set its own prices.

What most freelancers believe is that we need reinforcements in our protections, but we don't have to resort to a contract that shows, as our experience tells us, that the government will make us precarious and unable to protect us as it tries to make us believe, insists “ Mateo.

This complex situation reflects the huge diversity in the profiles of people who use digital platforms to find customers in industries such as transportation, home services and online services.

Opening up to the job market

Laura is a graphic designer. After losing his job due to the health crisis, he turned to a platform that directly connected him to a wide variety of customers.

Laura Cardenas Corrales summarizes: You sign up for “Platform, create your profile, set your rate, hours, and availability.” “For me, this change is positive because it gives me the freedom to dedicate the hours I want to dedicate and do the projects I really love. I believe that platforms like this will help you expand into the job market.”

While more social protection is needed for some of these workers, the flexible work schedule and hours model is supported by others, including digital platforms defending their own models. According to the International Labour Organization, Europe earns just under 4 billion euros per year in ’.

So how can compliance with labor laws and quality of work be ensured? With the pandemic and the explosion in home deliveries, discussions intensified.

Brussels’den view

The European Commission has launched a consultation to improve the protection of workers on digital platforms, inviting unions and employers' organisations to reach an agreement. If they fail to do so, the Commission will draft legislation by the end of 2021.

EU Commission Director-General for Employment Joost Korte explains: “This highly promising sector has many good dimensions, such as a better work-life balance for people, greater flexibility, access to the labor market for people who are sometimes under very difficult conditions.”

“But it needs to be a sustainable model on which this is based. Otherwise, we would arrive at different solutions in different member countries, which would be negative in the context of the single market, ” adds.

For more information on this topic, Naomi Lloyd spoke to one of the Senior Economists at the International Labour Organization ’, the United Nations agency that sets international labour standards.

Naomi Lloyd – at Euronews

“European CommissionLet's start with the consultations of ’; Is this something you like? ”

Uma Rani – Senior Economist, ILO

“We must not forget that digital work platforms operate across borders, so the EU regulatory framework that will come out at the end of this year will be a very good step forward in improving the lives and working conditions of workers and platforms.”

Naomi Lloyd – at Euronews

We saw the driver there in Fanny’'s report saying that if he turns down any work, he'll be penalized by the algorithms, –, is that something you've come across a lot?

Uma Rani – Senior Economist, ILO

This is the experience of many employees on these platforms. Platforms actually use algorithmic management practices in allocating work and rewarding work, monitoring the entire process of work. If you start refusing to work, if you don't get up to speed, it will punish you.

Naomi Lloyd – at Euronews

But there we found that not all passengers actually wanted to be employees; Many enjoy the flexibility of working at the hours they want.

Uma Rani – Senior Economist, ILO

I think the reason why this driver wants to work very long hours is because of the gamification process these platforms have. That's why they have so many bonuses and incentives.

Then after a while, the amount of work you get really decreases, the pay you get goes down, and that's where the frustration comes in.

Naomi Lloyd – at Euronews

However, people from many sectors prefer to be self-employed; What is the problem with the platform?

Uma Rani – Senior Economist, ILO

The problem arises when being self-employed becomes the secret self-employment, where you are an employee, but you are asked to be self-employed and enjoy no benefits. There's no regulation. So they self-regulate and decide what the status of the worker is, what the price of a car or the price of a task is, which becomes very problematic.

Will the publication of salaries help gender equality in workplaces in Europe’?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

If you are a woman working in Europe’, you are usually on average from a man for the same job. %You earn 15 less. This means that for every euro a man earns, the woman earns an average of 86 cents.

At the top, women in management earn almost a quarter less than men. CEOs of large companies in Europe’ only ’u is a woman. All of these ’ contributes to an even wider retirement deficit.

What makes the difference in pay between the sexes?

Women still take on most of the childcare, which means they often reduce their working hours. One-third of women and one-third of men in AB’ %8’i works part-time. This makes it difficult for women to move forward in their careers. There are also more women in low-wage sectors such as care and education.

The quarantines showed how deep-rooted these gender inequalities are; Most of the free child care is provided by women. They are also the ones most at risk of losing their jobs during the pandemic.

The European Pillar of Social Rights outlines the need for gender equality. To help close the gender pay gap, the European Commission is introducing wage transparency so companies will legally have to publish how much they pay their employees.

Esther Lynch is Deputy Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation ’ (ETUC). He gave us his insight into this wage transparency directive. She says this is a really important measure because women often assume that they have worked with their colleagues for decades and have the same pay, equal pay. Later, sometimes when you retire, or sometimes because of a news story, you find out that the person you think is doing the same job as you, receiving the same salary as you, is actually getting a lot more salary, ”.

At the end of the day, Esther says, what's needed is “, better laws about work of equal value.

AB’'s Pillar of Social Rights will help because it also calls for a Work-Life Balance with fair sharing of parental leave and the right to more flexible work. This has been adopted into EU law, and member states need to make it their own national law by 2022.

“One of the most important features we want to see in this directive is the provision that will end salary secrecy”.

Esther Lynch
ETUC Deputy Secretary General

One of the biggest factors holding women back in the workplace is the constant balance between work and home life. The data shows that Germany’ has one of the biggest pay gaps in Europe’. Despite having a female head of state for the past 15 years, she lags behind her European ​​ neighbors in terms of gender equality at work compared to countries where the rate of female employment is similar.

Women in the German labour market

Nadine Epplen is a lawyer and represents women in the hotel and restaurant industry. He himself says: “The problem is that even if employment contracts are arranged on a 40-hour per week basis, the employer can allocate the hours at any time. Of course, women with children cannot guarantee their availability.” In his job, he meets women who are fired and demoted because their working hours are not flexible enough.

Nadine Epple

The pandemic also aggravated problems with the sharing of family duties. Like Nadine and many of her clients, Germany is home to almost all of the women in the ’. ’si works part-time to take care of their families. This is well above the European average.

Nadine’in herself has two children and wants to work full-time, but this is not possible for her because “ nursery hours and school hours do not always correspond to working hours”.

To improve women's representation in the labour market, Germany, like other European countries, ’ needs to implement the European directive on work-life balance by 2022, which includes better access to parental leave and greater flexibility in the workplace.

Katharina Wrolich

According to economist Katharina Wrolich’e, joint income taxes need to be improved and access to career opportunities for both parents. Germany says ’ is transitioning from a single-income family model to a single-income family model. In his professional opinion, “Germany’ still needs to put a lot of effort into improving access to child care and quality, as well as working hours”.

GermanyOne of the areas where ’ performs well in terms of equality is the number of women who are members of the board of directors of publicly traded companies. Here it is %There are 36 women involved. However, in order to increase equality in this area, the country is also in the process of implementing quotas.

Hiltrud Werner

Hiltrud Werner is the only female board member of Volkswagen’. He told us that he personally welcomes quotas because he believes it will help employers stop missing people with high qualifications due to “ biases.

However, “ thinks that achieving one's career goals will not be free of charge. He admits he must make concessions to get to where he is today.

What about countries across the EU when it comes to exceeding the glass ceiling?

With the current rate of change, it will not be seen that the wage gap in Germany ’ will close until the next century; In ’, France, this could take more than 1,000 years. Some countries have been set for equal pay in this decade. Belgium is one of the pioneers in this regard.

Esther Lynch told us why she thinks ’ is better at this score than any other European country. Belgium says there are more union workers in ’. He believes this makes them confident when they ask “ questions, complain that they will not be charged, victimized and removed from the company, that they will not be expelled from the company as troublemakers.

Esther Lynch

But it tells us about a case where two equivalent jobs he recently encountered were significant pay gaps. He blamed it on gender inequality at work. He tells us that a large part of the “ wage gap is related to the work women do, and that this alone is seen as the justification for the lower wage.

The wage transparency initiative will go a long way to helping improve the gender pay gap, but European countries still have a long way to go. The hope for the future is that women don't have to compromise to get to the top.

Why does the war in Ukraine in ’ affect the European economy so hard while the cost of living is increasing?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

This week's Real Economy, Russia, examines how ’'s war in Ukraine affected the European economy and asks what's next.

The EU27 and eurozone economies were on track for a strong recovery and growth following the pandemic, but the EU recently lowered its growth forecast and raised its inflation forecast.

The economic impact

EuropeThe recent rise in energy prices in connection with ’'s dependence on Russian energy is driving inflation to record highs.

Ukraine and Russia produce almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and are major metal exporters. The disruptions in these supply chains, as well as the increased costs of many raw materials, have increased the costs of food and other essential goods and services.

This pushes businesses and puts less money in consumers' pockets. That's why the EU was cut off. economic growth forecast: Real GDP growth in both the EU and the Eurozone is expected to reach 2.7 percent ’e in 2022’e and 2.3 percent ’e in 2023’e, respectively at 4.0 percent and 2.8 percent ’e (2.7 percent in Eurozone’e), respectively. Winter 2022 provisional forecast.

Inflation, which was estimated at 3.9 percent just a few months ago, is now expected to average 6.8 percent.

GermanyThe cost of ’ya

The war is hurting some EU economies more than others. Germany’'s growth forecast is 1.6 percent and Europe is one of ’'s lowest growth forecasts.

Germany’'s Mittelstand’ or medium-sized companies form its economic backbone. But this eco-system of local firms is also heavily dependent on neighboring countries, including Ukraine.

It's five kilometers; This is the average length of the cables inside your car. And if your car is made in the European ’, about seven percent of that comes from the Ukrainian ’.

Guillaume Desjardins
Euronews

In 2021, the European Union imported 760 million euros worth of Ukrainian cables. Most of them have gone to the automobile industry, but the aerospace industry depends on it as well.

During the the Rocket Factor Augsburg(RFA) does not buy its materials directly from Ukraine’, the entire supply chain of the company was turned upside down when Russia invaded its neighbor in February.

Jörn Spurmann, co-founder of RFA’, explains how the outage hurts.

Our “Suppliers have difficulty getting things. We see that logistics prices are rising due to the shortage of containers, we hope that this is a temporary problem. We also see that energy prices are clearly rising. I hope this is a temporary effect. But yes, there are some things that affect business, but they affect our supply chain more than we do.”

Spurmann and RFA will launch the company's first rocket into space in 2023’te. If they're going to stick to this program, they're going to have to be creative. The company is now adapting parts and components made for other industries for use in its rockets, as they are easier to obtain.

RFA Co-Founder Jörn Spurmann said the company has adapted parts made for other industries for use in its rockets.

Spurmann, “There are suppliers who come back with higher prices or longer delivery times … And then we need to find alternatives. There are always alternatives. We don't have a single source, but it certainly takes more time and more effort in terms of supply chain management, ” explains.

The aerospace industry is not the only one affected by this supply chain disruption. After the two-year pandemic, the long-awaited economic recovery is now in equilibrium, especially in Europe, where people in ’ are suffering due to the rising cost of living.

The European Commission forecasts an inflation rate of 6.5% for Germany this year; This is a record figure since the country's reunification in 1990’.

Joachim Schallmayer, head of capital markets and strategy at Dekabank, says these price pressures have hit consumer confidence.

The “ Household is losing power in consumption. So they're going to have to scale down. For companies, this is a relative loss of competitiveness, especially for companies based in ’, Germany. We have to bear the brunt of these high energy prices, and they can, to some extent, pass it on to others, but not all of them. - ”

As growth stalls and prices rise, the EU hopes its 800 billion-euro pandemic recovery plan will help bring the situation under control.

But as the war in ’ continues to rage, clouds of economic uncertainty are expected to continue in the coming weeks and months.

Maria Demertzis, Economist and Deputy Director of the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel’in.

To learn more about the current economic turmoil facing Europe’, Naomi Lloyd of Real Economy’ spoke with Maria Demertzis, economist and Deputy Director of Financial Affairs. Brussels-based think tank Bruegel.

Naomi Lloyd, euronews:

“UkraineWas the war in ’ a fundamental change in ’'s economic outlook, or did it exaggerate already existing economic problems?”

Maria Demertzis, Deputy Director, Bruegel:

“, I'm probably thinking about the latter. It's definitely exaggerated when it comes to inflation. The reason we see all this inflation is because energy and energy come from Russia ’. Europe influenced ’ much more than the USA ’ because we, Russia, are much more dependent on ’ than others. It depends, of course, on the outcome of the war and how quickly we can find alternatives in the European ’. Honestly, we can't do this overnight. Looking at the growth outlook, I think we're coming out of an epidemic. I'm still saying we're in the pandemic, but at least the economy is coming out of the pandemic. As a result, we've seen huge increases in growth, but we don't see any drastic change in that.”

Naomi Lloyd, euronews:

“The cost of living, the price of food is rising. Should we be prepared for more of this?”

Maria Demertzis, Deputy Director, Bruegel:

“, I think so. I think we will definitely have another year in terms of inflation being abnormal. In Belgium, where I live, we saw an increase in flour, a doubling of flour, which of course also has an impact on bread prices, which is quite important. We'll feel it in our pockets as we fuel our cars, pick up our weekly groceries. And I can tell you, things have to get a little worse before they get better. So in that respect, I really think we are, we need to prepare ourselves a little bit more for that. - ”

Naomi Lloyd, euronews:

“Is this high inflation a real concern, or is it because we are tense after such a long period of low inflation?”

Maria Demertzis, Deputy Director, Bruegel:

“Eh, I guess it depends on what you're comparing it to. If you compare it to the last decade, yes, it's kind of accustomed to very low inflation rates. But it's okay if you compare it to the 1970 ’s, where we talked about real stagflation, 15 percent ’ inflation rates, and negative growth. We don't have those numbers right now. Even in the worst-case scenario, I don't expect to see these numbers. But of course we have to be brief. It's hard to imagine that kind of thing. - ”

Naomi Lloyd, euronews:

Do we need to see interest rates rise?“

Maria Demertzis, Deputy Director, Bruegel:

“I think it will be very difficult for the ECB’ not to increase the interest rates of other central banks that have to manage interest rates or interest rates when we see the inflation of the magnitude we see.”

Naomi Lloyd, euronews:

“How worried are you about the European economy right now?”

Maria Demertzis, Deputy Director, Bruegel:

“I think the European economy has survived the pandemic crisis quite well. Now, of course, the new crisis is of a very different nature, and it will also affect the way we cooperate globally, which of course will have economic implications. I think the European economy is in a good position to get through this. Now, whether we can manage it depends, of course, on how the war itself develops. - ”

Where does Europe get the money to host millions of Ukrainian refugees?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

An estimated 6 million Ukrainian refugees have fled across the border to neighbouring European countries since the start of ’'s war in Russia.

In this section of the Real Economy ’, we visit the Romanian ’ to see how the country is dealing with the large influx of Ukrainian refugees, and we talk with the Romanian Minister of Education about how they are helping refugee children to continue their education.

We also take a look at which EU funds help member states cope with the cost of this humanitarian emergency and ask if they are sufficient.

In a historic move, the EU has granted people fleeing the war in Ukraine’ the right to live and work in the European Union’ for up to three years.

In an effort to help EU governments, the EU has released several billion dollars of unused money into the regions of Europe’. This fund, known as the Adjustment Funds, also includes funding from the European Social Fund and the European Fund FEAD’, set up to help the poorest. These billions can now be spent on emergency assistance to Ukrainian refugees.

Prepared budget for peacetime

The money can be spent on temporary housing, food, blankets and clothing, as well as services such as psychological counseling, medical care and education. National governments can demand back money that has been spent since the beginning of the war.

There is also a €10 billion pandemic recovery fund known as REACT-EU. Member states have already been paid €3.5 billion, with the largest share being those hosting the most refugees.

Naomi Lloyd of Real Economy’ asked Joost Korte’ye, the European Commission's Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Participation, why funding is money reallocated from other budgets rather than fresh EU money to help deal with this crisis.

Korte, “2021The 7-year budget that started in ’ was made for peace, ” said. While “Biz was negotiating this budget, no one predicted a war in Avrupa’. I think it's fair to say that the budget we have right now is not really in line with the situation we find ourselves in. - ”

Underlining how quickly they released the money, the Director-General said: “European CommissionWhat ’ does is to use all the flexibility in the budget, all the margins. The European Union, where ’ has much more funding, is what we call harmonization funds.

"We strongly encouraged and encouraged member states to use the money that is still there, and we made it very easy to spend that money," “ concluded.

Korte explained why there is still unallocated money in the budget.

“In fact, it is possible for Member States to spend money within the scope of 2014-2020 programs until the end of 2023. So seven years is actually almost ten years. That's why there's still money out there in 2022’ as we speak today.”

He explained how governments, NGOs, ’s and charities can access the money.

“We pay to the bank account of the member state, and from now on it is up to the member state to make sure that the beneficiary receives the money that is actually due. And we're checking it out. In addition, Member States need to state very clearly who is responsible, where they should go and what the refund formalities are.”

The Great Difficulty

RomaniaUkrainian flags are seen everywhere on the streets of Bucharest as a sign of support and solidarity. Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, about 900,000 Ukrainians have entered Romania, and about ’ of children.

BucharestThe main railway station in ’ has been transformed into a center for refugees. Managing this influx is a major challenge for the country.

Ukrainian families are waiting in a specially prepared waiting room for the bus that will take them to the next stop, Germany’. The transport is organised by the Romanian charity ‘For Good’.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Alina and about twenty volunteers have been helping Ukrainian refugees.

Volunteers in front of Bucharest train station.

Alina Dăscălescu, who is also the president of the association, said that they provide food, clothes, shoes and goods to young babies, always in search of financial support.

“Currently RomaniaWe plan to apply for special funds from ’, but in the near future we are looking for some funds from Europe’.”

Unprecedented crisis

Save the Children Romania helped build this facility. His coordinator, Leonardo Andreescu, says he has never faced such a major crisis before.

I don't think the Romanian authorities and the Romanian community as a whole will be able to deal with this situation for a long time unless we get some support from abroad.“

At the station, humanitarian organizations are working with local authorities to help and guide incoming refugees.

Maryna left Odessa ’ with her two children and three other family members, but said their journey had become too dangerous.

“ I was so afraid for my children, for my mother, for my sister, for all my relatives. Volunteers told us that there was a room here where we could eat, where our children could play. Children love this room, they play ball with volunteers, there are psychologists. They didn't want to leave, so we waited until the kids got a little emotionally better, ” says.

Vital help for children

Support from NGO ’s and government agencies is vital in helping child refugees. RomaniaAbout 80,000 people remain, including about 36,000 ’i children, out of the total number of Ukrainian refugees entering ’.

Anastasiia Konovalova, also a Ukrainian refugee, at an elementary school in Bucharest’, Romania's Ministry of Education, set up eight classes thanks to classes provided by ’.

RomaniaYoung Ukrainian refugee in ’ classroom

“We currently have 264 children and close to 900’ on the waiting list. All these children came here because they needed education and they want to study Ukrainian. We're opening a new school next week and all the teachers here have been volunteering for two months, raising money for salaries through Go Fund Me, says ” proudly.

Alena Palesika arrived with her sons two months ago. The youngest comes here to school, study and at the same time play with other children.

“We are very pleased with our teachers and the team in general and we help them as much as we can. Romania, who helped us in these difficult times’ya, we are very grateful to this country and to all these people.”

Alena dreams of returning home, like Anastasiia, who organizes the reconstruction of her schools in Ukraine’.

‘Educated RomaniaHow does ’ help Ukrainian refugee children?

The Romanian government estimates that it has spent around 72 million euros in emergency aid since the start of the war, and that the end of the conflict is not on the horizon. Frontline countries like this think public finances are strained, but AB’ has some help.

Naomi Lloyd meets with Romanian Minister of Education Sorin Mihai Cîmpeanu

The Romanian government has adapted the legislation early so that all Ukrainian refugee children can have exactly the same rights as Romanian children.

Romanian Education Minister Sorin Mihai Cîmpeanu explained how the country's education reform project, known as ‘Educated Romania’, was used to help Ukrainian children continue their education.

“RomaniaAt ’ we have a unique opportunity: The President-initiated “Educated Romania” project aims for a radical reform of the education system. We have a budget of €3.6 billion for education reform. The existence of this project means that we are able to offer better and more effective integration and support to Ukrainian children. EU funds available to us, including those outside of EU Commission collaborations and the recovery and resilience plan, are also sources of funding.”

Across Romania, there are professional teams ready to help integrate refugee children, he said.

At the “ provincial level, RomaniaWe have a working group of school inspectors, teachers and, most importantly, counselors in ’, because psychological counseling for these children is important.”

The biggest challenge in the current situation, especially for minors from conflict zones, is the lack of Romanian language skills, he says.

The only obstacle to overcome is the language barrier, so Romanian authorities are focusing their efforts on providing Romanian language lessons.“

Do we need a digital euro?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

Are Europeans ready to launch a new initiative? The digital versionThe euro? - Mm-hmm. After coins and banknotes, now the European Commission to offerthe The Digital EuroA virtual version of the currency issued by the European Central Bank, which can be used for free alongside cash in the eurozone.

Why do we need a digital euro?

How European ​​ citizens can benefit from digital currency and what approach should be followed to develop it? Commissioner in charge of Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Association, Mairead McGuinness, explained the challenges of creating this new currency and why we need a currency. The Digital Euro:

“, this is a very new concept. People are curious. So this is the euro, cash. And you know, you see, you understand, but maybe I won't have any cash in my pocket. So I want an alternative, the option to have a digital version of cash. People don't use cash as much as they used to, and COVID-19 has really accelerated this trend. So it's really about the election. Am I going to use this money that I don't have in my wallet today, but is it normal? Or will I use the digital version of cash?”

Overview of the digital euro

The digital euro will be the digital version of euro banknotes and coins. It will have exactly the same value and can be used in exactly the same ways: Even beyond – national borders to buy ice cream or clothes or send money to a birthday party.

For example, you can use the QR code to pay from a secure app on your phone, or even pay when you don't have an internet connection.

Once fully implemented, sellers will need to accept the digital euro in the same way they accept cash today.

The digital euro differs from cryptocurrencies in that it is supported by the European Central Bank and thus guaranteed stability.

In a digitalized world, the digital euro aims to enable everyone to make secure payments anywhere in the eurozone.

When asked what advantages the digital euro would bring to EU citizens, the EU Commissioner replied:

“When we're trying to get our heads around the digital euro, so it's a wallet, and I actually have euro cash in this wallet. But I don't want to break 50 euros because I think I have it for something else. So I can decide to use the digital wallet to pay the euro for these drinks. So people are paying today in cash, but they're using more and more cards or phones. And we want to have the option of cash equivalent in digital format. And now it is. We proposed legislation, but it's just the beginning of a process, ” said.

European Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness speaks at a media conference on access to financial data and payments at the EU headquarters in Brussels’

The difference from cashless, contactless payment is: “Different because it's central bank money, other payments are private money. You know what it's worth. That's why we want to bring that same feeling into the digital age, because we're increasingly using digital payments.”

Will the cash go?

Central banks worry that digitizing payments could eliminate the anchor that cash brings to their financial systems. The digital equivalent of cash will help support the sovereignty and stability of this system. Euronews spoke with economist Maria Demertzis, a senior expert at the European ​​ think tank Bruegel’, at the National Bank of Belgium museum.

Demertzis, “Interesting how cash has evolved” said. After the “ Pandemic, we thought that most of the payments were made digitally. But in fact, if you look at the figures, these are the ECB figures, 2022, of the value of all transactions in the ’de euro area. ’si was made in cash. ’si isn't exactly half, but it's very, very close to half. In fact, I think the direction of travel is to reduce cash to more digital payments, but I don't think it will completely disappear.”

Maria Demertzis, Senior Member of Bruegel

How to design a digital euro?

Maria Demertzis said: “When it comes to our daily payments, which won't be much different, it will probably be an app. It will likely be mediated by financial intermediaries, such as banks, and paid in stores, just as we pay digitally through other methods. And at least initially, given that ECB’ will only start with small amounts, we won't have more than €3000 or €4000’ in the bank, in fact, it won't make a lot of difference for the consumer.

“If you want the digital euro to emulate cash as much as possible, you should make an effort to make it as anonymous as possible. And here the ECB tells us that there will be anonymity at small payment levels. But once you start paying larger amounts of money, it will no longer be anonymous.

The European Central Bank conducted a study. Participation of the peoplein the digital euro. Confidentiality among the concerns arising from this () While taking place, it is necessary to ensure that the security (), availability across the Eurozone (), the absence of additional fees (%9) and offline availability (%8) was followed.

Data protection associations are also raising concerns about privacy, anonymity and payment tracking.

Commissioner Mairead McGuinness is right to ask who monitors spending when using the digital euro, but said: “ECB isn't interested in how you spend your money, but it wants to give you the option of having a digital version of cash. So you can actually use digital euro payment offline. If you use your digital wallet offline, this is a special process. Of course, if you are making an e-commerce transaction, your bank will know that you are using your digital euro to do so. But I want us to do this: Thanks to these conversations, if people are worried, we can answer these questions and put them at ease.”

Opportunity for the economy

Despite privacy concerns, the digital euro represents a commercial opportunity, especially for FinTech companies, Jan Boehm’in explains: “Fintech’s are young companies, technology companies that provide financial services. We are very innovative. We are technology-driven and offer our customers solutions, such as this payment solution that you use when you pay for your coffee.

Jan Boehm, President of the European FinTech Association

Future users can benefit from these innovative services, especially private individuals and companies in the Eurozone.

Boehm, “Today, the European payment environment is actually very fragmented. So we have a lot of US companies that provide card payment plans, and people use Paypal’ for peer-to-peer payments, for example. We don't have much of a European system. Fintech’'s role is clearly to innovate but also to provide cuts for better products for customers and greater transparency that will result in lower fees, ” said.

Around 120 central banks around the world are currently working on digital versions of national currencies. The European Commission's proposal for a digital euro, outlined by ’ on 28 June, aims to create a legal framework for this; It's a joint proposal to protect cash.

When is the digital euro coming?

The Commissioner explained the next steps as follows: “Eh, it won't be my decision. The legislation is to implement democracy around the digital euro if you wish, and this process depends on the European Parliament and the Council. In other words, the ECB will decide whether and when the digital euro will be launched, and there is no date for that.”

Special thanks to ‘PIM Coffee on the Go’ and ‘Brasserie Byblos 1898’e for filming this episode.

Brussels Economic Forum 2023: Where is Europe and where is it going?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

With the escalation of the violence of war in ’, the tightening of control of the effects of climate change, scarcity of resources and global competition to achieve them, Europe faces numerous challenges.

However, the European Commission, in its latest economic forecast of the inflation rate of AB’ in 2022 %9.2’den this year %6.4’e and next year %2.8’e predicts a steady slowdown.

GDP growth in AB’ is expected to accelerate again and reach 1.6’ per cent in 2024, after falling from 3.5’ per cent in 2022’ to 0.8’e this year.

Speaking to Euronews’e at the Brussels Economic Forum’ (BEF), the European Commission's most important annual economic event, EU’'s Commissioner for Economy, Euronews’e said that these figures create a cautious feeling of optimism.

Speaking to Euronews’e Paolo Gentiloni, “Status is better than expected. Looking back a few months ago, we predicted a much worse situation where we had some concerns about energy supply, even considering possible power outages.” And there are many concerns about the possibility of stagnation and bankruptcy.”

Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for the Economy, European Commission

The BEF coincided with the European Central Bank's decision to raise basic interest rates again in an effort to reduce inflation. Commissioner Gentiloni said he was not concerned about the potential impact this would have on growth.

We should start by collecting income from population groups that pay much less taxes than the rest of us. That means today, 2023’te, the very rich.

Gabriel Zucman
Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley

But a recent development could also worry employment at AB’ and even trigger new legislation: It's an artificial intelligence.

Gentiloni, “, we need a set of rules. And we, as the European Union, are the masters of the rules. So I'm pretty sure we'll have good rules about artificial intelligence too, ” added.

EuropeGreen and digital transition of ’

Digitalisation, combined with the dire consequences of the climate crisis, are two of the main drivers forcing the economic transition of the European Union. For member states, this means more investment in education and training.

Spain’'s Minister of Economy and Digital Transformation Nadia Calviño, “This is probably one of the most important challenges we face going forward: How are we going to make sure that we are leading these transitions, that is, the digital and green twin transformation, that we are leading them technologically, ” explained.

Spain's Minister of Economy and Digital Transformation Nadia Calviño

“And sectors that have proven to be the most dynamic in creating jobs are linked to new technologies, information technology, science, research and health… This shows that structural transformation in the Spanish economy continues.”

Calviño, “, added that we are investing approximately €4 billion in the Next Generation EU fund to support a very ambitious digital skills program to ensure that our schools, universities and also the elderly have access to the necessary skills.

Addressing social inequalities in Europe’: Taxation and public expenditure

In the European Union, the unemployment rate in ’ is only spite being 6, a fifth of the EU's population still faces the risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The cost-of-living crisis and rising inequalities fuel social unrest and distrust of politics.

Gabriel Zucman, professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley’, told Euronews’e that the European Union should rethink public sources of income and start taxing the rich.

Almost all social groups in “ and in each Member State pay a lot of taxes. Because we have a social model based on a significant level of taxation. This is true for almost all social groups, with one big exception that is truly rich.”

“In the context of high public debt and rising interest rates, government revenues are needed today. We should start by collecting income from population groups that pay much less taxes than the rest of us. This means that today, in 2023’te is very rich.”

This is a call shared by European ​​ unions, who argue that new sources of public income are a way to boost social justice. Another way is public spending.

Liina Carr, Confederate Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, told “ that the rules need to be changed. We think maintaining this 3% “ level of rigid deficit is in fact in no way conducive to public spending and investments because it still limits what governments can do.’

Liina Carr, Confederal Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation

“There is also a debate that some investments in greening, such as investment in digitalization, investment in health, investment in education, should be excluded from the rules of debt and openness. Investments of the kind that really support the economy and keep economies strong.”

This discussion gained momentum on AB’, especially after the 2022 American Inflation Reduction Act’.

With a massive allocation of $369 billion (€334 billion) to promote clean technology in the U.S. ’, there is concern that Europe will be sidelined in the green transition in ’.

However, according to Jim Hagemann Snabe’, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Siemens AG, the American ’'s Inflation Reduction Act may be an opportunity for European ’'s industrial goals.

The “ Inflation Reduction Act is a catalyst for sustainable solutions for me. So it's good in that sense. Europe was the first to come up with this idea with the Green Deal, and now they are taking steps, ” explained.

I think the world is at a crossroads where we kind of have technologies, we know how to rebuild energy systems to be renewable, we know how to reinvent transportation systems, we know how to make buildings carbon neutral.

Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman of the Board, Siemens AG

“And this is a catalyst for companies to invest more, invest faster and create the scale we need to create and deliver a more sustainable future.”

Global race for resources

But Europe’'s green and digital transformation is based on critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements that AB’ produces very little of. China's rare earth supply %He's paying for his 86’.

According to European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis’e, at a time of increasing geopolitical tensions, this reality is shaping European ’'s trade relations.

Dombrovskis, “Therefore, at AB’, we put forward the raw material strategy to increase domestic production and at the same time to provide external supplies.

“, the 2030 target for extraction and mining Getting ’ domestically within the EU. This is, uh, %It means that the 90’ still has to come from outside the EU.”

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President, European Commission

That's why partnerships with other countries will be so important. We do this through the raw material sections of our trade agreements. We develop bilateral raw material partnerships with different countries.”

UkraineThe Russian occupation of ’ is a clear reminder of the importance of reducing dependence on energy sources.

But as the climate crisis intensifies, aligning this goal with sustainable management of scarce resources will continue to be a major challenge in the coming years.

How EU funds are helping Portugal's post-pandemic recovery

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

Launched in 2019, AB’nin's post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) provides financial support to Member States such as Portugal and aims to make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and more prepared for green and digital transitions. In this section of Real Economy’ we go to Lisbon’ to see how RRF financing is being used to advance this transformation.

With its long coastline, sunny weather and intriguing landscapes, Portugal is an important tourist destination. However, after the Covid-19 outbreak was interrupted, sector experts drew attention to the deficiencies in investment, education and sustainability in the sector.

PortugalWe are reviving ’'s tourism sector

Catarina Nunes is vice-rector of the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, ’, Portugal, and leads a new RRF-funded program aimed at overcoming skills shortages in the ’ tourism industry. Speaking to Euronews’e, he explained that more could be done to help the industry unlock its full potential.

Catarina, “Portugal’ still has a long way to go in terms of education in tourism and hospitality, ” said. “There are changes imposed by the market: demands of innovation, improvement, sustainability, creation of new jobs, new trends, meeting the needs of the market.”

“We are part of a consortium of three higher education institutions that will receive approximately €6.7 million. We can deliver a digital transformation for the industry, providing requalification, continuous improvement and training tailored to the needs of the market, ” said.

Catarina Nunes, Vice-Chancellor of the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies

It is estimated that about 8,000 students will benefit from this investment over five years.

One such student, João Aleixo, Euronews’e said that for him and others, the Healing and Endurance Facility’ has opened access to higher education.

“, the national recovery plan gives me and others like me a very important opportunity to get a master's degree. I'm thinking of doing a master's degree linked to entrepreneurship, innovation and the development of society in tourism, ” explained.

Portugal’in Recovery and Endurance Facility roadmap

Through the RRF, Portugal’'s national rescue plan will benefit from €13.9 billion in grants and €2.7 billion in loans.

Your plan is ’i will support climate targets, ’si will encourage digital transition.

We need to ensure that our economy and social fabric are resilient to future crises.

Mariana Vieira da Silva
Minister of the Presidency of Portugal

The fund supports investments and reforms in areas such as transportation, health and digital technologies, with special emphasis on social needs such as housing, which is a major problem in the Portuguese ’.

Among the challenges facing Portugal ’ in the area of climate and environmental policies are making the building stock more energy efficient, diversifying energy sources and improving forest fire prevention.

Therefore, the Portugal’in plan includes a large-scale investment program of 300 million Euro’ to improve the energy efficiency of residential buildings.

How does Portugal use RRF money?

At the University of Lisbon, work is underway to provide affordable housing for 900 students in need.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lisbon Vitor Leitão “ said that the rents are very high”. “ has a shortage of houses and rooms. Especially in Lisbon’da and other major cities. So if we want to attract more students, we have to provide them with a place to stay. - ”

“, this is the first of three buildings. In terms of funding, the EU will fund us through this resilience and recovery plan for around €27 million, at a total cost of around €39 million, ” added.

University of LisbonWork is underway to provide affordable student accommodation at ’

PortugalIn line with ’'s green goals, these new buildings must comply with energy efficiency requirements.

While this is an important measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the country is also investing in weather forecasting technologies that are more suited to the climate challenges ahead.

To that end, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) is set to receive a €17 million RRF investment and has already purchased a €1 million supercomputer.

IPMA President Miguel Miranda, “, said this computer will allow us to increase our computational capacity by 20 times to provide data faster and with better quality.

Miguel, “Portugal is one of the countries most affected by climate change. Our capacity to improve atmospheric forecasts and ocean forecasts, no matter how small, has a huge impact on people's lives, ” added.

Miguel Miranda, head of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, shows off the Euronews’e group's new 1 million Euro’ supercomputer

Will RRF Portugal help sustain ’'s recovery?

According to the European Union’'s recovery plan, the country's GDP is expected to reach ’ by 2026. %It will increase up to 2.4’e and create employment for about 50,000 people.

Euronews asked Mariana Vieira da Silva’ya, the Portuguese government's Presidential Minister, if this would be enough to overcome the economic impacts of the pandemic.

“Of course, we think this is a good opportunity for us to get out of the crisis and at the same time prepare our economy for the future. And anyone can always say that more money is better than less money. However, I think that RRF’ is a very important program that the European Union ’ can launch and that we can approve and implement.”

Minister of the Portuguese Presidency Mariana Vieira da Silva

Two years after the launch of RRF’, Euronews asked Mariana Vieira da Silva’ya what lessons have been taken and on what issues she still believes improvements need to be made.

We have a strong program on integration policy in countries like “Portugal, and now we have a strong program on RRF. They have different rules and different evaluation mechanisms, and I think we need to coordinate them more than we do now because the country, the administrative capacity of each country is not unlimited. And I think these two mechanisms need more coordination. - ”

Research into how RRF funding is used across Europe reveals that Portugal ’ has the second highest share allocated to social policy. But at this stage, is social policy investment a policy preference or an economic reality preference?

Minister “Eh, both said ”, I think.

“First of all, there is an inequality problem that we need to address in Portugal, and this is one of the most important things that will ensure that digital and climate transition are not unfair. We've already had many crises in our lives: The financial crisis, then COVID-19, and now the war.

Mariana Vieira da Silva, “So we need to ensure that our economy and social fabric are resilient enough to tackle future crises. I hope not, but we have to be prepared for them, ” said.

Ukraine EU financial support package for greener and safer reconstruction of ’

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

As Ukraine continues to fight for freedom, the country's economy is faltering and GDP is in ’de %With a decline of 30.4’, it is experiencing its sharpest decline in more than 30 years.

The European Union has provided financial and military assistance to Ukraine’ in the last 12 months, keeping Ukraine’ a symbol of European solidarity and security from Russia’, even paving the way for its future accession to AB’ after Ukraine’ granted candidate status in June 2022’.

On 2 February ’ in Kiev’de, together with 15 European Commission members, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe has been with Ukraine since day one, because we know that the future of our continent is written here.’

This is after AB’ announced a new assistance package of 450 million Euro’ for 2023, bringing the total financial support provided to Ukraine’ from AB’den, Member States and European financial institutions to around 50 billion Euro’.

Where has the money gone so far?

The €50 billion provided by the EU, European financial institutions and Member States comes in different forms and is spent in various areas, including humanitarian aid, military aid, Macro-Financial Aid and loans.

Macro Financial Assistance is a form of assistance to EU partner countries experiencing a balance of payments crisis and is used to finance government spending such as pensions, salaries, education and infrastructure repair.

The EU also has 35 million LED bulbs and 5400 generators to help alleviate ’'s energy crisis, as well as ’ pledged to donate equipment to help repair the power grid destroyed by Russian missile strikes.

Cost of War

The World Bank estimates that the cost of Ukraine’ya in terms of economic recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure will be about 320 billion euros.

Much of this economic collapse has to do with the mobilization of workers, which has disrupted key industries such as agriculture and exports, to which the Ukrainian economy depends.

But according to Ukrainian analyst Olena Bilan’ from Dragon Capital’, the economy is surprisingly resilient given the challenges the country faces.

Olena Bilan, chief economist at Dragon Capital’ (left); Sasha Vakulina, Euronews correspondent (right)

In the first weeks of the war, half of the economy was not working. But then we saw a fairly rapid recovery in economic activity. This lasted until October, when Russia’ began a terrorist attack on Ukraine’'s energy infrastructure.”

Despite this, Bilan added that with the acquisition of “generators, accumulators and starlinks by companies, ” Ukrainian people and businesses are able to adapt to the challenges posed by electricity shortages.

Aid and investment for 2023

In addition to aid, the European Union has committed to lending only €18 billion in 2023’te with favorable credit conditions.

The funds will be distributed in several installments and will depend on the terms set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between Brussels and Kiev, which sets out its commitment to the rule of law reforms, economic liberalisation and anti-corruption.

Olena Bilan, Euronews’e Ukraine’ needs to take more steps towards “reform to recover, and ” added that Ukrainian authorities need to show genuine willingness and willpower to reduce corruption.

News Kiev’de was well received; Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna said that this latest “important ” EU aid package provided “netlik” to Ukrainian citizens.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that the Ukrainian government faces a financing deficit of $38 to $39 billion (over 35 billion euros), so the 18 billion-euro loan will partially cover that deficit.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission for Economy and Trade

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission for Economy and Trade, told euronews’ that EU’ expects other international donors, such as the United States and other G7 countries, to provide the rest of “, such as the World Bank, from international financial institutions such as the IMF.

Changes in EU-Ukraine trade agreements

The EU and Ukraine’ have had a trade agreement since 2017’, but in June last year the European Commission unilaterally decided to liberalize access to EU markets with a change that would last until June of this year.

Under this agreement, Ukrainian goods and services will be able to enter AB’ without any tariffs or quotas.

Dombrovskis Euronews’e said AB’ is working to extend these measures until June, as the end of the war is a long shot.

RussiaThe role of ’?

Von der Leyen gave a clear message to the ’ of Russia during his visit to Kiev’e in February: "Russia must be held accountable in court for its heinous crimes." - “

The President of the European Commission said that the prosecutors of Ukraine and the European Union are already working together to collect evidence to be used in the war crimes trial, adding that AB’ will continue to increase pressure on the Kremlin with sanctions.

The collapsed Ukrainian building

Dombrovskis Euronews’e said international institutions are investigating how Russia will be held accountable for the damage ’ has already caused and continues to inflict on Ukraine’.

“In international law, there is a principle of responsibility of the attacker to cover the damage. The problem is how we can implement this principle, RussiaIt is not yet clear whether ’ will be willing to voluntarily pay, as I said.”

“We are looking at the possibilities of how the seized Russian assets can be used in the reconstruction of Ukraine’. This is an ongoing legal assessment that concerns both private assets and central bank assets of ’, Russia.”

How are households and businesses in AB’ coping with the energy crisis?

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

The energy crisis caused by ’'s war in Ukraine continues to have an impact on European economies, business and consumers. Europe’'s high energy prices per year in the eurozone %It caused an inflation rate of 8.5’. ItalyCost of living in ’ %It's up 10.9.

These punitive price increases don't just hurt consumers. They also affect energy-hungry companies like the Gruppo Francia factory, which produces mozzarella on the outskirts of Roma’.

Speaking to Euronews’e Massimo Panagia, CEO of Gruppo Francia Latticini, we have 250 employees in two of our factories. “We produce 20 million kilos of cheese in different formats and specifications.”

In 2022, the CEO announced that energy bills were three times higher than in the previous year. Although investments in biogas and solar panels have managed to partially reduce these costs, they remain a heavy burden on companies like him.

Massimo Panagia, CEO of Gruppo Francia Latticini

Panagia, “In real numbers, this means an extra cost of €1.3-1.4 million, which is unpredictable. As a result, the cost of our products was significantly affected, ” added.

Are AB’'s measures to combat the energy crisis effective?

The volatility and rising prices in the global energy market have prompted the European Commission to introduce measures aimed at alleviating the burden on living-strapped EU households and companies.

The European Commission adopted the State Aid Temporary Crisis Framework in March 2022’ in order to support the EU economy following the Russian ’'s invasion of Ukraine’.

It allows Member States to provide limited assistance to companies affected by war or sanctions, provide liquidity support to businesses, and compensate for the high energy prices in which companies live.

Gruppo Francia Latticini mozzarella factory, Rome, Italy

ItalyIn ’, more than 50 billion Euro’ of state aid, including tax credits, has been approved by Brussels.

Massimo Panagia, “Given the energy bill, each company will Can calculate ’, and this ’ could use it as a loan to make up for the tax to be paid to the government in the coming months, ” said. “This mechanism unfortunately did not work well in short-term cash flow.”

This sentiment is also shared by Mauro Savoia, director of the automotive repair shop in Roma’, a family-owned business. He also took advantage of the tax credit after seeing his energy bills double within a year, but said more needs to be done to help small businesses.

Mauro Savoia, Rome, ItalyManager of a family-run automotive repair shop in ’da

Autopozzi Savoia’'s owner and managing director, Mauro Savoia, told “ that there was no financial relief at all. “We expected at least some economic assistance or grants to help companies at the end of the year.”

EuropeAssessing and rethinking ’'s energy system

UkraineThe war in ’ has revealed the need to rethink energy supply, energy consumption and energy production.

Energy expert Simone Tagliapietra, a senior member at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, ’, said that in recent months, energy prices have been falling sharply across Europe. Families will see lower energy bills in the coming weeks and months. But those energy bills will still be twice, three times higher than what we've seen in the past, ” said.

AB’'s Temporary Crisis FrameworkDespite the benefits that ’ can bring to companies trying to survive among its exorbitant energy bills, some experts have expressed concern that this could lead to market disruption.

Tagliapietra, “In times of crisis, one of the typical reactions of the European’ is to loosen these rules of state aid a little. The problem is that when you loosen and dilute competition policies in Europe’, for example, Germany and France are usually the two largest countries that benefit the most from state aid rules; These would be Germany and France, who would have the financial space, that is, the money to spend on subsidizing their companies more than others.”

Simone Tagliapietra, senior member of the Bruegel think tank in Brussels’

“In 2022, we are faced with a situation where 80 percent of state aid is allocated only by Germany and France.’

When asked if these measures were sufficient to help businesses weather the storm Tagliapietra, “There were many interventions, that is, the tax credit was one, but then there was also a reduction in VAT’. Companies have seen their energy bills triple or even quadruple at a given time. But we need to take into account that without government intervention, energy bills would have gone up much more than that.”

The energy crisis has exposed the vulnerabilities in the European electricity market. In January, the EU launched a consultation meeting to reform the market and better protect consumers from price shocks. But Tagliapietra Euronews’e said that alone would not be enough.

We shouldn't think that this will be the solution to our energy crisis problems, ” said. What was our problem with the “Energy crisis? The mismatch between supply and demand for natural gas, namely Russia, after the arming of ’.”

The only way for “ to emerge from this crisis sustainably in the coming months is to correct this imbalance; You can do this with alternatives by reducing your demand and maximizing supply. This means building floating storage and gasification units, as Germany’ does. This means signing new gas agreements with LNG suppliers. To promote solar energy to get rid of gas in electricity generation, to promote the spread of heat pumps in our homes to get rid of gas boiler. They are the only structural solution to the energy crisis in Europe’.