Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich has expressed gratitude for “a solution which expresses solidarity inside the European Union” in reference to the agreement reached by EU leaders on 21 July 2020 for a €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund. The announcement came after a four-day Summit in Brussels.
Cardinal Hollerich was speaking in his capacity as President of COMECE, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union ,which consists of bishops delegated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the 27 Member States of the European Union. The Brussels-based COMECE secretariat monitors the political processes of the European Union and the legal developments in all areas of interest to the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Hollerich stated that he hopes the “recovery fund will help the weakest economies, the economies most touched by the pandemic to grow, and to be there for people, for the real people who constitute the European Union, so that also the next generation can live in peace and in certain prosperity.” The total EU budget for the period of 2021-27 will be €1.82 trillion, which includes the €750 billion recovery fund to help relaunch the European economy after the Covid-19 crisis.
Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down & Connor and Vice President of COMECE, also welcomed this positive and significant outcome of the prolonged negotiations at the meeting of the European Council.
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