production; and increasing support for research, training, and development, France strives to regain economic sovereignty both for France and Europe. France Next Generation EU (NGEU) is a European Commission economic recovery package to support the EU member states to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those that have been particularly hard hit. It is sometimes styled NextGenerationEU and Next Gen EU, and also called the European Union Recovery Instrument. Agreed in principle by the European Council on 21 July 2020 and adopted on 14 Dec Recovery and Resilience Facility: this largest component has €672.5 billion of funding in the form of loans and grants. The objective is to mitigate the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, allowing European economies to be more resilient and better prepared for the challenges of ecological and digital transitions. Support for Cohesion and Territories in Europe (REACT-EU): this component has a budget of €47.5 billion. This is a new initiative to put in place crisis response measures to address the consequences of crises, to contribute to a green, digital, and resilient economic recovery. NextGenerationEU will also bring additional funds to other European programmes or funds such as Horizon 2020, InvestEU, Rural Development, and the Just Transition Fund (FTJ). Horizon 2020 implements the Innovation Union to ensure Europe's global competitiveness. This program is seen to stimulate economic growth and create jobs; it guarantees €80 billion of funding. The European Union wants to promote recovery, green growth, and employment by supporting investments that bring visible progress, hence the InvestEU program. This plan is intended to generate more than €372 billion of additional investment. In addition, supporting an economy in rural areas that promotes rural development (FEADER) is also essential. Indeed, FEADER's budget amounts to €95.5 billion and includes a contribution from NextGenerationEU to help meet The importance of the headroom rests on the fact that it is necessary in order for the EU to meet in full all its financial obligations and liabilities, even in case of economic recession. Otherwise, the EU would no longer be able to preserve its high credit rating with international investors, which would trigger a general rise in borrowing costs. Following Council Decision 2020/2053, the increment in the own resources ceiling is intended to be applied exclusively for the purpose of addressing the COVID-19 crisis. The objective is to mitigate the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, allowing European economies to be more resilient and better prepared for the challenges of ecological and digital transitions. Support for Cohesion and Territories in Europe (REACT-EU): this component has a budget of €47.5 billion. This is a new initiative to put in place crisis response measures to address the consequences of crises, to contribute to a green, digital, and resilient economic recovery. NextGenerationEU will also bring additional funds to other European programmes or funds such as Horizon 2020, InvestEU, Rural Development, and the Just Transition Fund (FTJ). Horizon 2020 implements the Innovation Union to ensure Europe's global competitiveness. This program is seen to stimulate economic growth and create jobs; it guarantees €80 billion of funding. The European Union wants to promote recovery, green growth, and employment by supporting investments that bring visible progress, hence the InvestEU program. This plan is intended to generate more than €372 billion of additional investment. In addition, supporting an economy in rural areas that promotes rural development (FEADER) is also essential. Indeed, FEADER's budget amounts to €95.5 billion and includes a contribution from NextGenerationEU to help meet the challenges posed by the pandemic. The rest of the package will focus on consumption, support for companies hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, health, artificial intelligence research, public spending, and support for international partners, especially within the European Union. The importance of development and humanitarian aid is also emphasized by the German government. Germany remains the economic and political heavyweight of Europe. Its wealth is accompanied by enormous influence, which is reinforced by the country's six-month presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2020 and its active role in the Recovery Plan. Furthermore, Germany's Recovery and Resilience Plan provides a total of €27.9 billion. The plan will focus on improving the quality of air, energy-efficiency in buildings, development of renewable energy, zero-emission transport, and access to broadband internet. Projects cover the Recovery and Resilience Facility until 2026. === Greece === ==== Economic effect ==== Greece was hit by the pandemic but it was relatively spared from serious health consequences, compared to many other European countries. Greece's recovery and resilience plan will help boost economic growth and job creation. This will include increasing Greece's gross domestic product from 2.1% to 3.3% by 2026. This will enable approximately 62,000 Greek citizens to find employment. Greece will also benefit from the recovery and resilience plans of other EU member states, particularly through exports. First of all, with regard to climate and environmental policies and therefore the green transition, Greece will try to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. Portugal's recovery and resilience plan will help boost economic growth as well as employment creation. This will include increasing Portugal's gross domestic product from 1.5% to 2.4% by 2026. This will enable around 50,000 Portuguese citizens to find employment. Portugal will also benefit from the recovery and resilience plans of other EU Member States, notably through exports. Following the pandemic crisis, Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan aims