Brussels, 7 June 2023
Yesterday, the Netherlands submitted a request to the Commission to modify its recovery and resilience plan, to which it also wants to add a REPowerEU chapter.
The Netherlands’ proposed that REPowerEU chapter includes one new reform and one new investment. The investment is a scaleup of an existing measure already included in the plan in the area of energy efficiency. Firms and households can benefit from this subsidy scheme for taking energy saving measures, such as the purchase of heat pumps, wall, glass and roof insulation, and solar boilers. The reform concerns measures to address the congestion of the electricity grid and facilitate its expansion. It also aims to improve coordination related to public investments in the electricity grid so that these can be better prioritised, and to simplify the permitting for renewable energy projects to speed up the construction process.
The Netherlands has also requested to revise three measures, which includes the investment in zero-emission cargo ships for inland waterways and the installation of intelligent roadside stations.
The Netherlands’ request to modify its plan is based on the need to factor in the very high inflation experienced in 2022, as well as supply chain problems and technological progress.
The Netherlands’ REPowerEU chapter will be financed with €455 million in grants. The Netherlands has also requested to transfer a share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), amounting to €280 million, to its plan. These funds make the submitted overall modified plan worth over €5.4 billion, up from €4.7 billion of the original plan.
The Commission will now assess whether the modified plan still fulfils the assessment criteria in the RRF Regulation. If the Commission’s assessment is positive, it will make a proposal for an amended Council Implementing Decision to reflect the changes to the Netherlands’ plan. The Council will then have up to four weeks to endorse the Commission’s assessment.
More information on the process concerning REPowerEU chapters and the revision of recovery and resilience plans can be found in this Q&A.
Source – EU Commission