The coronavirus crisis has led to the worst recession in history of EU. Because of the pandemic, the European economy is expected to decline by more than 7% this year.

In response, the European Commission has presented a recovery plan totaling 750 billion euros outside the European Union's multiannual budget (€ 1.1 trillion). The plan should be implemented by the end of 2024, and the money will be provided by borrowing from global financial markets with a repayment period until 2058. It is envisaged that two thirds of the funds will be provided in the form of grants and the remaining – in the form of a loan.

The proposal presented by the European Commission on May 27 will be the basis for discussions in all European governments in June.

"It is time for Europe to rethink its economic model and therefore it has set the ambitious goal of making a double transition - one towards digital economy and digitization and the other - towards a green economy, in order for people to live in a cleaner world, which was the demand of European citizens at the last elections," MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Member of the Renew Europe Group said in an interview with Radio Bulgaria.

Speaking about the debate on grants and the arguments for and against, the MEP pointed out that after the serious crisis caused by Covid-19 most EU countries would be in severe deficit, which largely determines the policy of the EC - to provide economic stimulus to countries, so they could exit the crisis thanks to much faster economic action.

MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk pointed out that Bulgaria had missed the opportunity to express its opinion on whether it supported grants or loans and added:

"The question here is a question of values. It is whether Bulgaria will be on the side of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who stood firmly behind this plan and joined France with the idea of strong economic recovery, so that Europe did not lose another generation, or it would stand on the side of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is pulling the EU back in terms of values. Indeed, at the backdrop of the budget and billions of euros, the conversation boils down to the question of where we want to lead Europe and what values we want to lead it to.”

Bulgaria has been mentioned as one of the most financially-affected countries. According to a preliminary distribution of the funds, this country could receive 15 billion euros.

According to the MEP, it was the right time for Bulgaria to make sure that the next generations do not choose the path of emigration in the direction of Western Europe or the United States, but remain in their homeland.

"Indeed, the time has come for Europe to answer the question whether it wants to be a union of all 27 Members; whether it wants to fulfill what has been said in recent months, namely that no one will be abandoned, or continue to be a loose union between nation states and in any new crisis European citizens would want more and more from Brussels, but it would be able to give them less and less,” Ilhan Kyuchyuk said and added: “The crisis provides a chance for an economic and political restart of the European project and the question is the extent to which the European Union will be able to use it."

English: Alexander Markov