The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) entered into force in February 2021. It has financed reforms and investments in Member States from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so until 2026. To finance a proportion of it, the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, borrowed for the very first time on capital markets. This facility enables Member States, in particular those with limited fiscal space, to finance additional investments, allowing them to recover from the pandemic-induced economic and social crisis and make their economies and societies more resilient.
To benefit from the Facility, Member States had to submit national recovery and resilience plans to the European Commission. Each recovery plan sets out the reforms and investments that Member States commit to implement by the end of 2026, and Member States can receive financing up to a previously agreed allocation.
At least 37 per cent of the funds must be earmarked for climate action and be accompanied by reforms that will maximise the impact of these investments. None of the reforms or investments should harm the environment. The RRF therefore provides an important opportunity for EU Member States to accelerate necessary investments for the green transition. But are they really making full use of this money?
Links:
Add more resources from Olivier on repower EU
Reaching for a green recovery: what holds back progress in ten EU recovery and resilience plans, 2022
https://caneurope.org/content/uploads/2021/06/Recovery-and-Resilience-Plans-Assessment_June2021.pdf (2021)
https://caneurope.org/content/uploads/2021/01/CAN-Europpe-webinar-EU-recovery-package_June-2020.pdf (2020)