The Commission has received an official recovery and resilience plan from France. This plan sets out the reforms and public investment projects that France plans to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The RRF is the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the EU’s plan for emerging stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide up to €672.5 billion to support investments and reforms (in 2018 prices). This breaks down into grants worth a total of €312.5 billion and €360 billion in loans. The RRF will play a crucial role in helping Europe emerge stronger from the crisis, and securing the green and digital transitions.
The presentation of this plan follows an intensive dialogue between the Commission and the French national authorities over the past number of months.
France’s recovery and resilience plan
France has requested a total of €40.9 billion in grants under the RRF.
The French plan is structured around the three pillars of resilience, green and digital transformation. It places a particular emphasis on the fight against climate change thanks to investments in energy efficiency, sustainable transport, and green technologies. Projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026, with a strong concentration of projects in the first three years of implementation. Finally, the plan proposes projects in each of the seven European flagship areas.
Next steps
The Commission will assess the French plan within the next two months based on the eleven criteria set out in the Regulation and translate their contents into legally binding acts. This assessment will notably include a review of whether the plan contributes to effectively addressing all or a significant subset of challenges identified in the relevant country-specific recommendations issued in the context of the European Semester. The Commission will also assess whether the plan dedicates at least 37% of expenditure to investments and reforms that support climate objectives, and 20% to the digital transition.
The Council will have, as a rule, four weeks to adopt the Commission proposal’s for a Council Implementing Decision.
The Council’s approval of the plan would pave the way for the disbursement of a 13% pre-financing to France. This is subject to the entry into force of the Own Resources Decision, which must first be approved by all Member States.
The Commission has now received a total of four recovery and resilience plans, from Germany, Greece, France, and Portugal. It will continue to engage intensively with the remaining Member States to help them deliver high-quality plans.
For More Information
- Recovery and Resilience Facility: Questions and Answers
- Factsheet on the Recovery and Resilience Facility
- Recovery and Resilience Facility: Grants allocation
- Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation
- Recovery and Resilience Facility website
- RECOVER team website
- DG ECFIN website
Source: EU Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_2021