OREANDA-NEWS. The German Bundesrat (representation of the federal states) on Friday, March 26, approved the creation of a multibillion-dollar joint fund of the European Union to combat the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. On the eve of the creation of the fund was approved by the Bundestag – the German Parliament. 478 deputies voted in support of the relevant bill, 95 were against and 72 abstained.

Similar legislation has already been ratified in 16 of the 27 EU countries. In order for the joint fund to work, the consent of all EU member states is required. The bill passed by the German parliament will allow the European Commission to borrow up to 750 billion euros on capital markets. Of this amount, 390 billion euros will be distributed among the EU countries in the form of subsidies, and the remaining funds – in the form of loans, which must be returned by 2058.

In order to avoid increasing the contributions of the EU countries, the repayment of loans is planned to be financed by new revenues to the EU budget: so, from 2021, a tax on plastic waste is introduced. A digital tax, a surcharge on imports from third countries with low standards in the field of environmental protection, and an expansion of trade in emission certificates in the field of air and sea transport are also planned.