The Council today approved the Commission’s positive assessment of Lithuania’s and Portugal’s amended recovery and resilience plans. According to the analysis by the Commission, the targeted modifications put forward by both member states do not affect the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of their recovery and resilience plans.
Lithuania
The targeted amendments submitted by Lithuania concern investments for green transition and public sector efficiency. The modified plan continues to have a strong focus on the green transition, devoting 37.4% of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives. The plan is now worth €3.849 billion, with €2.297 billion in Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grants and €1.551 billion in RRF loans.
Portugal
The targeted amendments submitted by Portugal concern investments for green and digital transition, as well as economical and social resilience. The plan allocates 40.6% of funds to support climate objectives, while 21.1% of funds will be used to underpin the country’s digital transition. The plan is now worth €22.215 billion, with €16.325 billion in Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grants and €5.890 billion in RRF loans.
Background
On 25 July 2024, Lithuania presented a modified recovery and resilience plan. On 1 and 12 August 2024, Portugal presented a modified recovery and resilience plan. The Commission submitted a positive assessment of both plans on 17 September 2024.
The RRF is the EU’s large-scale financial support programme in response to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to the European economy. It is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, a temporary recovery instrument that allows the Commission to raise funds to help repair the immediate economic and social damage caused by the pandemic.
To benefit from the facility, member states must submit recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) to the Commission, setting out the reforms and investments they intend to implement by the end of 2026.
So far, €648 billion have been committed to this end. To date, all RRPs have been approved, 69 payment requests have been received and €267 billion have been disbursed.