The European Council is expected to shift EU leaders’ attention away from
immediate and short-term priorities, such as limiting the spread of the
coronavirus, to a longer-term strategic approach focused on a recovery
strategy for the European Union, and the financing thereof. The recovery strategy
could be based on four pillars:

1 – The internal market, including the Green Deal, the digital agenda and the EU’s
strategic autonomy;

2 – An investment strategy, to be included in the next seven-year EU budget and
reflected in the work program of the European Investment Bank;

3 – A global recovery strategy reinforcing the external responsibility of the EU and
promoting multilateralism;

4 – Strengthening resilience and governance for a stronger EU after the crisis.

As the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the seven years from 2021
to 2027, which has yet to be agreed, touches upon all four pillars of the recovery
strategy, EU leaders will engage in a strategic discussion on the MFF.