By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission asked EU governments on Tuesday to come up with an extra 10 billion euros for 2024-27 to leverage a total of 160 billion euros worth of investment in key technologies, including renewable energy.
The call comes as the European Union executive is reviewing the bloc’s long-term budget that totals around 1% of the EU’s GDP and pays for various joint European policies.
The review is necessary to factor into the 2021-27 shared budget the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an energy crisis, as well as rampant inflation and sharp interest rate rises.
Nor did the EU budget anticipate the fierce competition between Europe, the United States and China for the latest “clean” technologies to produce energy.
“The future of the strategic industries should be made in Europe,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in presenting the call for more money.
The new scheme is to be called Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) and help develop in the EU microelectronics and quantum computing, as well as renewable energy and electricity storage, among others.
“With the existing funding, and an extra €10 billion that we intend to inject, we aim to reach up to €160 billion in investments in the coming years,” von der Leyen said, adding the input would be multiplied through “crowding in of private capital”. ($1 = 0.9155 euros)
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Bart Meijer, editing by Gabriela Baczynska)
