Jyrki Palo, a correspondent, discussed the EU stimulus package and its allocation to Spain in an article dated 17th June. It was observed that the Finnish media had not shown much interest in the topic, despite the availability of information. The legal basis of the stimulus package had been questioned from the start, yet EU leaders made the decision in the context of multi-year financial frameworks, making opposition challenging.
Finally, approximately 390 billion euros of the original pot of 750 billion euros in the stimulus package had to be granted as grants, with the remaining 360 billion provided as loans. Finland’s share of the total responsibility was around 12 billion euros, depending on whether all member countries opted for loans. The distribution of funds among member countries has been widely criticized, especially as it follows a similar regional distribution.
Countries like Italy, Spain, and Eastern Europe are among the largest recipients, with Spain set to receive 119.4 billion euros, Italy 118.2 billion, and Poland 106.1 billion. Criticism arises from concerns that many recipient countries may not use funds sensibly. For instance, Spain will allocate vast amounts to tourism industry SMEs digital connections while Italy focuses on research innovation renewable energy projects.
Finland is expected to receive around 3.8 billion euros from the stimulus package; some of it aimed at peat sinking projects which raises concerns about EU transformation into an income transfer union as discussions about additional stimulus packages need to consider bigger picture factors such as distribution and effectiveness of fund use in various countries remain crucial factors to monitor