Helsinki, 5 September 2023
Finland is using new REPowerEU funding to promote the transition to clean energy. The Ministry of Finance is requesting comments on its proposal for projects to be funded.
The EU is seeking to cut its dependency of Russian fossil fuels and to speed up the transition to clean energy. To this end, the EU launched the REPowerEU plan, which is part of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The Union will grant a total of EUR 20 billion in funding for measures under REPowerEU. The EU is funding the plan mainly by selling emission allowances belonging to the EU Innovation Fund and by bringing forward the sale of emission allowances allocated to Member States.
Finland will receive a maximum of EUR 127 million in new funding. In order for Member States to apply for funding, they must add a REPowerEU chapter to their Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). The new chapter sets out investments and reforms that promote the objectives of the REPowerEU plan.
Funding for three projects
On Thursday 31 August, the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy supported the Ministry of Finance’s proposal for the allocation of REPowerEU funds in Finland. Under the proposal, the funds would be allocated as follows:
- speeding up permit procedures in a manner compatible with the regional government reform, EUR 32 million
- R&D and pilot projects relating to clean energy and material flows, EUR 40 million
- investments in the clean transition, EUR 55 million.
The Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy supported the Ministry of Finance’s proposal, which requires that the funding for REPowerEU measures is one-off and cannot give rise to additional needs for national funding.
Next steps
On Tuesday 5 September, the Ministry of Finance requested comments on its proposals for REPowerEU measures. The deadline for comments is 15 September.
The Ministry will continue negotiations with the European Commission and will finalise its proposal for Finland’s REPowerEU chapter. The Government aims to approve Finland’s proposal in September. The Commission will then assess the updated plan and, finally, the Council of the EU will approve it.
The Recovery and Resilience Plan is part of the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland, which will boost reforms and investments. The Programme is funded mainly through the EU’s recovery plan (NextGenerationEU).
Source – Finnish Government