At the meeting, Kallas emphasised the continuing need to support digital development across Europe and commended the European Commission for its ambitious Digital Decade plan. “The future belongs to digital technology, connectivity, and trust. I am pleased to say that the European Commission also considers these issues to be very important and plans to ensure a technologically capable Europe.”
According to Kallas, the idea of trusted connectivity proposed at the Tallinn Digital Summit is one way to support each other in digital development and increase trust. “In the future, the most important thing will be digital connectivity based on shared values, good governance, and trust. Estonia is happy to help contribute to this future.”
They also discussed economic renewal and the use of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. “The priority of Estonia in using the recovery and resilience facility and making reforms is investments in health and social protection, the digital revolution and green transition of companies, and the development of the digital state, as well as the improvement of transport connections,” the prime minister said at the meeting.
The government approved the plan of Estonia to use the Recovery and Resilience Facility in June this year. The initial volume of the Estonian recovery and resilience plan is 982.5 million euros. Exactly how much funding will Estonia receive from the RRF will become clear in June 2022, when the European Commission will calculate the final amount of support for all Member States on the basis of the latest GDP data.
The most important investments are related to the digital revolution and the green transition, to which it is planned to direct more than 600 million euros in total, a large part of which will go to business. More than 200 million euros will go to the green transition of businesses through a dedicated green fund, the deployment and improvement of innovative and resource-efficient green technologies, the enhancement of bio-resources, the implementation of integrated hydrogen technologies, and the development of skills that support the green transition.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen commended the plan of Estonia for the use of the facility and handed over the approving decision of the European Commission to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas at a joint press conference. Next, the recovery and resilience plan must be approved by the Council of the European Union.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen visited Estonia to present the assessment of the Commission of the recovery and resilience plan of Estonia. Together with the prime minister, they got acquainted with Ülemiste City and the digital solutions of Estonia and gave a joint press conference, which can be viewed here.
Photos from today can be found here.
