Dear European Parliament President David Sassoli,
Dear European Council President Charles Michel,
Dear European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

We, young Greens from all over Europe, urge you to put social, economic and climate solidarity at
the heart of Europe's efforts in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. With great concern, we are watching this
crisis which is threatening Europe and the whole globe unfold. Before anything else is said, we want to
express our condolences to all those affected.

At the moment of writing, the virus has infected 2 million people worldwide and more than 120.000
people have lost their lives. We firmly believe that in this dire time, there is a need for collective action on
the part of all the member states of the European Union and the whole of Europe. We are facing a challenge
that many of us have never experienced before and extraordinary and innovative measures are necessary to
overcome this. Until now, the EU and individual member states have implemented various strategies to
minimise the consequences of the pandemic. However, this has not proven to be sufficient to counter the
devastating effects that Covid-19 has had on our societies. The response to the spreading of the virus has
primarily been an individual effort of member states and there has been little collective European policy until
now. Since European solidarity is a core value of the young Greens, we believe that the European Union
should come together to prove that in the face of adversity we can and should act as one.

We demand the introduction of Corona bonds for all member states. Corona bonds are a valid option
to support the emission of government bonds. They will not involve a relevant burden for public accounts
and the effort would be sustained by the entire European economy. Moreover, the debt that would be created
would not be upon single countries, already severely affected by the virus, but in common among Member
States, as a real demonstration of community and solidarity. In any case, Corona bonds do not provide a total
mutualization of public debts. Instead, our proposal asks to put in common only the debt necessary to save
European Union economical, political and social stability as a whole. This would be an emergency measure
to guarantee the long term viability of the economies and social welfare states of all countries. Corona bonds
should be used to invest in the sectors that are severely impacted by not only the virus itself but also by the
measures taken by governments to protect the public from the virus. This includes micro-, small-, and
medium-sized businesses including unemployment, but also health services and cultural institutions. Corona
bonds would facilitate necessary financial support to cope with these issues in countries struggling with high
government debt. This method would not be available to finance previous or future debt that is unrelated to
the pandemic. The countries that have been most impacted by the pandemic have called on the EU for
assistance and view Corona bonds as a measure of solidarity. We absolutely agree with them. In this time of
crisis Europe should come together and support each other. Corona bonds are first of all a temporary
emergency measure and are essential to create stability in the south of Europe that is going to have positive
effects also on other countries. Without Corona bonds, the European Union will change irreversibly.

European solidarity will be a beautiful dream in times of prosperity while in times of hardship it will have
proven an empty promise. This is not the Europe we want. In this time of crisis Europe should come together
and support each other.

Additionally, we urge you to integrate in the Covid-19 response plan the Green New Deal that
already exists. The quarantine in most parts of the world has shown how globalization has impacted our way
of living. European countries are very dependent on imports from outside the EU which has caused shortages
in essential products. Therefore, this crisis provides us with an opportunity to promote sustainable local
production and consumption. In particular, there is an urgent need to relocate the production of medical
health devices and food, to ensure our resilience in the face of health and environmental shocks. Indeed, the
climate crisis that human activity has caused could well confront us with other epidemics in the future.
Furthermore, an unforeseen side effect of the preventive measures and general decrease of productivity has
been the significant reduction in European consumption and pollution. Even though this is detrimental to the
economy this pandemic also provides an opportunity to redefine our relationship with nature. Biodiversity is
indeed a question of public health insofar as it allows basic medical research, and that this Covid-19, like
other viruses before it, is the result of an alteration of ecosystem balance due to human activities.
We claim the policies of economic recovery and European solidarity that will be taken today to stem the
Covid-19 crisis to also be policies that guarantee a decent future for future generations.

We understand the importance of international solidarity across Europe. This is not a Chinese, Italian
or European problem, but a global problem that can be overcome if we act together. It must be understood
that non-EU countries have also been affected by the pandemic, need the support of other European countries
and are ready to cooperate. We have seen countries taking care of each other’s citizens when they have spare
intensive care capacity, the supply of personal protective equipment and essential goods not just at EU
borders, but in Europe as well. That is why we are calling for solidarity not only within the EU, but
throughout the European continent.

Conclusion

We, young Greens from all corners of Europe, support the adoption of Corona bonds as an essential financial
policy to counter the destructive effects that Covid-19 has had on Europe. This is the time for joint financial
assistance and joint action. This is the time in which our shared solidarity should shine bright and most
certainly should not be forgotten. As devastating as the corona crisis is, it also provides us with an
opportunity to rebuild our economies and societies in a sustainable and just way. Let's use this time to also be
ambitious in European climate policy and to build a strong European coalition in the fight against global
warming.

We call loud and clear for Europe to become a community of solidarity, where European citizenship is
not an empty slogan, but a way of expressing the deep feeling of unity that binds us together.
Call to action

We call on you;
● To adopt Corona bonds as a means of financial assistance to member states in order to support the
health system, job market and sustainability of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
● To show full solidarity with all member states and the whole of Europe.
● To put social, economic and climate solidarity at the heart of the European Union’s efforts to counter
Covid-19,
● To integrate in the Covid-19 response plan the Green New Deal towards sustainable societies

Written by:

Giovani Europeisti Verdi - Italy
Les Jeunes Écologistes - France
Зелена Молодь України - Ukraine
Joves d’Esquerra Verda - Catalonia
Déi Jonk Gréng - Luxembourg
Cyprus Young Greens - Cyprus
Ecolojovem Os verdes - Portugal
DWARS, GroenLinkse Jongeren - The Netherlands

Supported by:

Federation of Young European Greens - Pan-European
Jong Groen - Flanders, Belgium
Grüne Jugend - Austria
Young Greens Southtyrol - South Tyrol, Italy
Red EQUO Joven- Spain
Grønn Ungdom - Norway
Protest - Latvia
Neoi Prasinoi - Greece
Genç Yeşiller - Turkey
Alternattiva Demokratika Zghazagh - Malta
Vihreät Nuoret - Finland
Confluència Jove - Catalonia