EU Corona Billions, Belgian nationalists and disinformation (04/20)

On Monday 30 March, in the Council of the EU, Belgium was the only of the 27 EU member states to abstain during a vote to approve the EU’s 37 billion euro investment in health care systems and economies in response to the Coronavirus crisis.

€37 million of the €37 billion is destined for Belgium: €16 million for Wallonia, €6.5 for Flanders, €4.3 for the Brussels Region and €9.6 million for the French Community.

The Flemish nationalist party N-VA believes that this is unfair. Flanders did not accept the distribution of the funding and forced Belgium to abstain during the vote, since there was no agreement between the different entities of the country.

On 26 March, N-VA MEPs Assista Kanko, Geert Bourgeois and Johan Van Overtveldt also abstained during the vote at the European Parliament.

Where does this money come from?

This €37 billion is not fresh money!

It comes from the already existing EU Cohesion Funds, which are intended to help the development of Europe’s less developed regions.

Each year, member states receive money from these Cohesion Funds as pre-financing for projects. If unused, they have to be returned to the EU budget the following year. EU countries were currently due to return almost €8 billion in unused pre-financing.

Under its Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative, the European Commission proposed that EU member states keep that money and use it for new projects mitigating the effects of the Coronavirus crisis.

Member states can now use this €8 billion to supplement €29 billion of EU structural funding across the EU for COVID-19 = €37 billion in total.

Is the money distribution unfair?

Even if this 37 billion has been reallocated towards the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, the distribution key of those Cohesion Funds between regions, agreed upon already back in 2014, remains the same.

Under the Cohesion policy, the money is being given according to how wealthy a region is, with poorer regions getting more and richer regions getting less. As a less developed region, Wallonia received more than Flanders.

But it does not mean Flanders is the poor child of the European Union. It receives many more funds intended to stimulate innovation and investments, like Horizon 2020, for instance.

WE, AS JEF BELGIUM

We regret the short-sightedness and lack of solidarity on the part of the Flemish nationalists.

We also condemn the selfish logic of ‘the neighbour has more than I do’. The European Union has no losers; we are all winners provided we look beyond the cold logic of the simple European funding we receive.

This extraordinary situation calls more than ever for more European solidarity for the good of all European citizens. We will all emerge from this crisis together or we will not emerge from it at all.

– By Nicolas Hubert, Policy Officer

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“Democracy Under Pressure¨ 2020 campaign – JEFers across Europe take action for democracy and Rule of Law (March 16 – 22)

For 14 consecutive years, the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) have been holding their  “Democracy under pressure” campaign. This action calls on citizens to speak up for those who have been silenced in Europe. In other words, to defend and advocate for the rule of law and democracy, two core principles of the European Union that have been infringed upon these past years.

The campaign started in  2006 as the “Free Belarus” action that was organised to raise awareness about the Lukashenko regime, often called ‘the last dictatorship in Europe’. However, in the last decade, European values have been increasingly compromised by illiberalism, populism and xenophobia across governments and societies in Europe. As we believe an attack on the Rule of Law in one country is an attack on our own, the action that was rebranded in 2014 to Democracy Under Pressure.

“Over recent years, from Slovakia to Malta, from Hungary to Italy, we have witnessed how national populism and authoritarian politics have led to a grave erosion of EU founding democratic principles. I will never tire of saying this, especially in the times that we are living in: democracy and rule of law in Europe are not a given, but a constant daily fight. We citizens have to care for them and protect them. JEF Europe cannot remain silent when everything we believe in is threatened by representatives who rail against human rights and European values. That is why we campaign every year and fight relentlessly for a European democracy.” states Leonie Martin, President of JEF Europe.

During the 2019 European election campaign, JEF Europe demanded all European Commission Spitzenkandidaten prioritise safeguarding democracy and maintain high standards in their own party families. The demands did not stop after the elections: letters were sent to the Presidents of the Parliament, Commission and Council, as well as to prominent MEPs calling for the introduction of the European Review Mechanism on Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (DRF), as proposed by the last European Parliament. 

JEF supports the so-called Article 7 procedure towards the Polish and Hungarian governments for violating the rule of law, but this is not enough. A better equipped EU framework to deal with such violations is urgently needed, building institutions able to safeguard democracy on the national and supranational level.

JEF Europe and JEF Belgium call on all Europeans to stand firm in the defense of the rule of law and democracy in Europe, by joining the activities of a local JEF section or taking action individually. Clap your hands for democracy, spread awareness on social media by using the hashtag #DemocracyunderPressure, or participate in street actions in one of the European cities between March 16- 22, 2020. The choice is yours.

  • When those in power are tempted by illiberalism, we choose the rule of law.
  • When those in power are tempted by authoritarianism, we choose democracy.
  • When those in power are tempted by nationalism, we choose Europe.

 

by Lauren Mason
International Officer, JEF Belgium


More Information on JEF

The Young European Federalists (JEF) Europe is
a non-partisan youth NGO with 13.000 members active in more than 30
countries. The organisation strives towards a federal Europe based on
the principles of democracy and subsidiarity as well as respect for
human rights. JEF promotes true European Citizenship, and works towards
more active participation of young people in democratic life. While the
umbrella organisation JEF Europe was founded in 1972, its sections have
been operating continuously since the end of the Second World War,
making it the oldest pro-European and only federalist youth
organisation.

JEF Belgium
is the section of Young European Federalists (JEF) Europe in Belgium,
counting around 150 members with local sections in Brussels, Liège, and
Leuven.

Contact JEF Europe:

Leonie Martin
President, Young European Federalists

president@jef.eu

Contact JEF Belgium:

Anna-Lena Sender
President,
JEF Belgium

president@jefbelgium.eu

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