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Following the announcement of the Recovery Plan (ERP) by the European Commission on 27 May, European leaders have now agreed to create a EUR 750 billion (US 858 billion) recovery fund to support the recovery of EU economies affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The fund will allow companies to benefit from direct grants and favorable loans for ‘green’ initiatives in order to catalyze investment and kick start the economy post-COVID-19.

At Baker McKenzie, we believe that the ERP has huge potential to drive major change for companies that choose to explore growth opportunities through the scheme without delay. The Commission is expected to launch a first call for funding submissions in early autumn, and more will follow in 2021 and 2022. A user-friendly interactive document that provides further information and contact details for our ERP experts is attached.

Author

Christopher Jones is a Principal in the European Competition Law Practice Group in the Brussels office. He joined Baker McKenzie in 2018.

Christopher's career has spanned more than 30 years at the European Commission, focusing on energy policy and competition policy.

During the last two decades, Christopher held a wide range of key energy posts including Director for Renewable Energy, Energy research and Energy Efficiency, Deputy Head of Cabinet for the Energy Commissioner and Deputy Director General for Energy.

He has been at the forefront of many major key energy and competition law decisions and innovations. He played a key role in the evolution of EU competition law towards the more economic and market based instrument it is today, and was instrumental in the successful implementation of EU merger control. He was the central EU official in opening up energy markets to competition as well as developing and implementing the core of the EU's energy policy as it is today; driving the '20-20-20' renewables and energy efficiency decarbonisation agendas, and setting the gas strategy and research policies.

Christopher is also an expert on competition policy, having spent 11 years in the field including responsibility for antitrust and mergers in the Cabinet of the Energy Commissioner, and as personal Policy Assistant to two Directors' General.

He is a leading academic in the competition and energy areas, as a part-time Professor at the European University Institute, editing and co-authoring a number of standard text books on Competition Law and Energy Markets, the Internal Energy Market, and EU Renewable Law and Policy, as well as books on merger control and the standard competition law reference work, the EU Competition Law Handbook.

Author

Kathy Honeywood joined Baker McKenzie in May 2018 as a partner in the London Corporate Group. Kathy is a member of Baker McKenzie's Global Energy, Mining and Infrastructure Industry Group. She focuses on M&A, corporate finance and joint ventures and has significant Asia Pacific experience, including secondments to China and Singapore and advising on a number of high-profile Asia outbound M&A matters.