The European Union has started rolling out its major economic stimulus package as it looks to drive the post-pandemic recovery of its member states across the next decade. The Next Generation EU (NGEU) facility will provide €750 billion to EU economies in grants and loans and represents an historic opportunity for member states to inject momentum and direction into key policy initiatives over the coming period. This particularly holds for the green energy and digital sectors as the EU has placed climate change and digitalization firmly at the heart of its post-pandemic economic path.

Central and Eastern European EU member countries are all looking to benefit from the EU's recovery funding facility, however three crucial CEE markets – Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland – are yet to receive approval from Brussels to access the funds. This comes at a time when Budapest and Warsaw are embroiled in crucial political debates with the EU that will define whether the two countries will receive EU recovery support.

In this memo, Aretera provides an introduction into the EU's post-pandemic economic recovery strategy, the situation of recovery funding in key CEE markets and a look at the opportunities and implications for investors provided by the NGEU.