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(1) The COVID-19 pandemic is a major shock to the global and Union economy and is having a major social and economic impact across Member States and regions. Due to the necessary containment measures, economic activity in the Union dropped significantly. The contraction in Union GDP in 2020 is expected to be around 7,4 %, far deeper than during the financial crisis in 2009. Investment activity has dropped significantly. Vulnerabilities such as the over-reliance on non-diversified external supply sources and a lack of critical infrastructure need to be addressed, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including micro-enterprises, for instance by diversifying and strengthening strategic value chains, to improve the Union’s emergency response as well as the resilience of the entire economy, while maintaining its openness to competition and trade in line with its rules. Even before the pandemic, while a recovery in investment-to-GDP ratios in the Union could be observed, it remained below what might be expected in a strong recovery and was insufficient to compensate for years of underinvestment following the 2009 crisis. More importantly, the current investment levels and forecasts do not cover the Union’s needs for structural investment to restart and sustain long-term growth in the face of technological change and global competitiveness, including for innovation, skills, infrastructure, SMEs and the need to address key societal challenges such as sustainability and population ageing. Consequently, in order to achieve the Union’s policy objectives and to support a swift, sustainable, inclusive, lasting and healthy economic recovery, support is necessary to address market failures and suboptimal investment situations and to reduce the investment gap in targeted sectors.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-30 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.