C 275/6
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.7.2022
3.
For ‘Next Generation’ EU tourism and transport policies 3.1.
A new ‘Next Generation’ approach is required, one that is more harmonised and based on European and national policy options for short-, medium- and long-term resilience and the full recovery of tourism and transport.
Key shared principles should be at the centre of a new EU political, social and economic agenda to: — restore confidence in the EU’s tourism and transportation ecosystems (which are mainly made up of micro SMEs and self-employed people) among workers, members of the public, tourists/travellers, and EU/global private and public investors; — help to rethink the existing EU tourism and transport industry ecosystems to promote resilience and recovery towards a ‘triple transition’ (health, digital, green); — get back to pre-COVID-19 levels of demand, and promote new investments that are affordable for SMEs in sustainable and long-term growth in the sectors beyond 2021-2027. 3.2.
The European Commission’s recent Fit for 55 package enables the EU to achieve the continent’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets enshrined in the European Climate Law.
The package’s proposals also affect European transport and tourism ecosystems.
Unless these measures are designed with the right policy in mind, the proposals will not lead to ‘Next Generation’ EU tourism and transport policies.
On the contrary, the proposed measures could lead to significant regulatory cost increases for EU businesses, both large and small, and could harm their competitiveness vis-à-vis non-EU transportation and tourism companies located around EU borders, thereby putting EU jobs in these sectors at risk.
EU regions highly dependent on tourism would consequently be particularly hard hit.
A new ‘Next Generation’ approach should therefore pay attention to the cost impact of this legislative package for European transport and tourism ecosystems and ensure that their (international) competitiveness will not be harmed.
Only in this way can European employment and competitiveness be safeguarded, carbon leakage be avoided and the success of the new ‘Next Generation’ approach be guaranteed.
4.
A good start: a new EU awareness 4.1.
Full use of the flexibility of the State Aid Temporary Framework should be guaranteed until the end of 2022 and the important unemployment programme SURE should be operational for the same period.
Nevertheless, social actors and SME organisations should be more involved so that the package meets expectations with regard to impact and effectiveness. 4.2.
Having said that, the liquidity, financial and recapitalisation schemes available for small businesses and HORECA SMEs still urgently require a policy intervention extending these measures and programmes to the end of 2022–2023. 4.3.
Together, the submitted NRRPs and the new Multiannual Financial Framework (2021–2027) require a reinforced and harmonised system of common methodologies and policy practice exchanges (including the European Semester) in order to guarantee the necessary symmetrical EU economic recovery, fair competition among public and private actors, in particular restaurants and HORECA SMEs, at national/regional/local level, social convergence and inclusion. 4.4.
The NRRPs will determine how the funds will be allocated and spent within existing deadlines.
Depending on the EU country, tourism is covered by either tourism-specific measures that modernise the sector or horizontal measures that are relevant to all sectors.
For these reasons, we have developed a short- to medium-/long-term framework with four main policy pillars on which we will base our final conclusion and recommendations:
4.5.
PILLAR I: Liquidity, employment recovery and restoring business confidence 4.5.1.
Since there is no clear and up-to-date information about the expected impact of the financial support allocated by the European Commission’s recovery programme under the European Investment Fund (EIF) on micro and SMEs, the EESC expresses its concern and proposes: — setting up a task force to supervise the implementation of the recovery measures, in particular those directed at micro and small businesses in the tourism and transportation sector; — monitoring the Member States’ NRRPs to assess whether tourism-related reforms have been included;