The European Recovery and Resilience Plan, currently in the making, is a pioneering instrument based on the largest long-term budget in the European Union’s history. Examining this endeavour to “repair and prepare for the next generation” is thus essential, particularly in the final stage of policy drafting, when Member States’ prepared their domestic plans to be submitted to the European Commission by the end of April 2021.

On 8 June, the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy organized a Policy Seminar in hybrid format, with attendees both joining in person as well as online, featuring two experts in the field: Luciano Monti, Professor of European Union Policies at Luiss Guido Carli in Rome, and Anna Rita Ceddia, researcher at the Bruno Visentini Foundation and research assistant in AHCD’s Puzzle of Unspent Funds research project.

Which visions of Europe’s social, economic, and environmental future have been expressed through these plans? How convergent are the priorities contained across Member States’ plans? Professor Monti evaluated the Plan by noting, among other things, that priorities among Member States differ substantially. For example, investment in the next generation’s skills and employability varied considerably by country and was lacking in Member States with high youth unemployment such as Italy. In turn, Ceddia elaborated on challenges of multilevel governance. Both speakers stressed the importance of time, and timing, in implementing recovery and resilience policies.