There is no time to waste. This is the refrain repeated in unison by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President David Sassoli, and by Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and President of the Council of the EU, at the end of their meeting via video conference today. Items on the agenda included the next steps in the adoption of Next Generation EU (the plan for the relaunch of the EU economy hit by the pandemic) and the next Multiannual Financial Framework. “The aim of the discussion – a statement reads – was to prepare the interinstitutional negotiations that lie ahead and enable a swift adoption of the package, building on the agreement reached last week by the European Council and on the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 23 July”.

The participants reaffirm that “reaching rapidly a good agreement is their highest priority” and concur that “there is no time to waste”. Their common goal is to ensure that the Recovery Plan will be in place by 1 January 2021. In the coming months, Parliament and Council will have to swiftly adopt a decision on some important institutional matters. In order to ensure “strong coordination and facilitate rapid progress, President von der Leyen proposed to organise a meeting on a regular basis from mid-September onwards”, also using the remote mode.