PRESS RELEASE NO. 24/2020 IG Metall calls for a solidarity-based and ambitious recovery plan for Europe

Frankfurt am Main – According to IG Metall, tomorrow’s EU summit must agree on a solidarity-based and ambitious recovery plan that will help the continent emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. Forecasts for economic development this year look even bleaker than anticipated in the spring. This is particularly true for Italy, Spain, and France, which, according to the European Commission’s summer forecast, could face an economic contraction of more than 10 percent this year.

“We can only overcome this crisis in the interests of Europe’s workers if the member states stand together in solidarity and agree on an ambitious recovery program that addresses Europe’s industrial, climate, and social policy challenges. The funds from this recovery program must be used, in particular, to preserve and strengthen value chains in Europe. This will secure jobs,” said Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall responsible for European policy, on Thursday in Frankfurt.

IG Metall fundamentally supports the Franco-German initiative as well as the European Commission’s proposal for a recovery package currently under discussion. The ambitious plan to jointly provide 750 billion euros for a recovery fund points in the right direction. IG Metall is critical of the condition demanded by some EU countries to tie the disbursement of funds to the implementation of structural reforms.

Lemb: “We must learn from the mistakes of the euro crisis. The troika’s handling of Greece and other European countries, in particular, has shown exactly how not to approach policy during the COVID-19 crisis. The forced austerity measures at that time exacerbated the crisis, caused social hardship, and permanently damaged the image of a Europe based on solidarity and capable of taking action among those affected.”

In promoting a solidarity-based and ambitious recovery plan, the German government—which currently holds the EU Council Presidency—has a particularly important role to play. “Time is of the essence. Agreement on a European recovery program must not be further delayed or derailed by the nationalist self-interest of individual governments,” said Lemb.

Further information and press photos of Wolfgang Lemb