EU economic and finance ministers today adopted the first batch of Council implementing decisions on the approval of national recovery and resilience plans. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain got the green light for the use of EU recovery and resilience funds to boost their economies and recover from the COVID-19 fallout.
The
adoption of Council implementing decisions on the approval of the plans
permits the member states to sign grant and loan agreements that will
allow for up to 13% pre-financing.
The Council received a positive assessment for the 12 member states’
plans from the Commission in June, accompanied by the proposals for the
Council decisions on their approval. All 12 member states asked for pre-financing from their allocated funds. The decisions the Council adopted today are the final step before the member states can conclude grant and loan agreements with the Commission and start receiving funds to implement their national plans.
The decisions at the ECOFIN Council on almost half of the
national plans are a big step forward in the European economic recovery.
They allow the member states to sign the first financing agreements and
the pre-financing payments to take place. With the EU support, the
member states can start the reforms and investments needed for the
recovery, strengthening and transforming of our economies. The adopted
Council decisions will allow the member states to use the funds not only
to recover from the COVID-19 crisis but also to create a resilient,
greener and more digital, innovative and competitive Europe for the next
EU generations.
Andrej Šircelj, Slovenia's Minister for Finance
The EU financial assistance from the €672.5 billion Recovery and
Resilience Facility aims to power the European economic recovery by
supporting member states’ reforms and investment
projects. The measures approved in the national plans are centred around
six policy areas (‘pillars’) set out in the regulation establishing the
Recovery and Resilience Facility. The areas include the green and
digital transition, smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and social
and territorial cohesion.
Individual member states’ measures to achieve recovery and enhance the EU’s resilience
include, for example, decarbonisation of industry, building renovation,
digitalisation of public administration and reskilling of the labour
force. The plans also address the country-specific recommendations
identified in the course of the 2019 and 2020 European Semester
discussions.
Background and next steps
The Recovery and Resilience Facility is the central part of Next
Generation EU, the recovery package to revitalise the EU economy after
the COVID-19 pandemic while also addressing the main challenges of our
time, such as the climate transition and digital transformation.
To receive support from the facility, member states need to submit
their recovery and resilience plans to the Commission, which then
assesses them against the country specific recommendations and the
facility’s six pillars.
Once an individual plan is submitted, and unless a postponement is
agreed with the member state involved, the Commission has two months to
assess it and to propose a Council implementing decision on its
approval. The Council then, as a rule, examines the proposal within four
weeks. After it adopts the proposed decision, the member state can sign
bilateral financing agreements with the Commission and receive the
agreed pre-financing within two months.
Further disbursements from the facility will be based on a positive assessment of the implementation
of the recovery and resilience plan, taking into account the
achievement of the milestones and targets set out in the individual
plan.
© European Council
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