Ireland’s Green MEPs today welcomed the adoption by the European Parliament of a resolution on the EU’s economic recovery plan. In preparation for the European Commission’s publication of its revised 7-year budget, the Parliament called on the Commission and Member States to come forward with a plan that is capable of dealing with the social, economic and environmental challenges the EU faces. An EU budget of €2 trillion is proposed, of which at least €1 trillion would be in the form of grants financed through a common loan guaranteed by the budget and which has the European Green Deal at its core.Green Party MEP for Dublin, Ciarán Cuffe said: ‘’We are facing enormous challenges as we try to rebuild from the Covid-19 crisis and only through solidarity with those hardest hit can we ensure that we meet these head on. We will not recover from this crisis by seeking to return to business as usual. This is a time for fresh thinking and innovation that will lead to a socially, economically and environmentally resilient Europe.‘’The European Green Deal needs to be at the heart of this plan so that we rebuild an economy that leaves no one behind and meets our climate objectives. We need to invest in renovation, in public transport, in sustainable jobs. For this to happen we need serious public investment, but we cannot expect Spain, Italy or Ireland to face these problems alone. We need to share the financial burden across the EU and agree on an ambitious budget."Green Party MEP for Ireland South, Grace O’Sullivan said: “The road to recovery from the Covid-19 crisis will not be an easy one. But the best way to ensure that we come out of this crisis on a stronger footing is to implement a recovery plan rooted firmly in the principles of the European Green Deal. Anything less will leave us even more vulnerable to the worst impacts of the climate and biodiversity crisis. The Greens/EFA Group in the Parliament published its own Recovery and Resilience Plan in recent weeks and the resolution passed today reflects much of what we outlined in that plan.“I am heartened today that the European Parliament has passed this resolution which puts the Green Deal front and centre. I look forward to seeing the Commission doing the same when it publishes its plan in the coming weeks.”ENDSFurther Information:The European Commission's reconstruction plan is expected on May 27th.The Greens/EFA group presented its plan for sustainable, robust and equitable economic reconstruction on April 28th. It calls for a continuous increase in the EU's 'own resources' through the introduction of environmental, corporate and financial taxes. These new revenues, which are intended to feed directly into the EU budget, would not only prevent the Member States from going further into debt, but would also make it possible to overcome the issues around national contributions.Greens/EFA recovery plan