Brussels, 29 February 2024
Today, the Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Denmark’s second payment request for €422 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.
Following its assessment of the payment request submitted on 21 December 2023, the Commission has preliminarily concluded that Denmark has satisfactorily completed the 6 milestones and 12 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision for the second instalment.
The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of two reforms and 10 investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Denmark in the areas of digitalisation of healthcare administration, energy efficiency, cybersecurity, healthcare, as well as research and innovation for the green transition.
Flagship measures in this payment request include:
- A Digital Strategy and a new National Cybersecurity Strategy: The strategy will benefit Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and improve public digital services, through measures such as the provision of high-speed broadband in rural areas and expanding ‘eHealth’ options for patients and their general practitioners. Cyber- and information security will also be enhanced and the interoperability between both strengthened.
- Research and innovation for the green transition: Denmark has launched several initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with a specific focus on circular economy and the agri-food sector. Four research and development innovation missions have been set up. They involve broad consortiums of research institutions, businesses and public entities. They will focus on key green technologies (carbon capture, use and storage; green transportation; agriculture and food production; and plastics and textile waste reduction). These actions will help Denmark reach the aims laid out in the European Green Deal.
Next steps
The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Denmark´s fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Denmark can take place following the EFC’s opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.
Background
The Danish recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures. The plan will be financed by €1.6 billion in grants. The payment request preliminarily endorsed today follows Denmark’s first payment request, that was endorsed by the Commission on 28 February 2023 and paid out to Denmark on 27 April 2023.
This payment request will bring the funds paid out to Denmark under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to €965 billion (including the €201 million in pre-financing received by Denmark in September 2021 for RRP and the €39 million in pre-financing received for the REPowerEU chapter), which correspond to 59% of all the funds in the Danish plan, with 46% of all the milestones and targets in the plan fulfilled.
For more information
Commission’s preliminary assessment of Denmark’s second payment request
Denmark’s Recovery and Resilience plan
Recovery and Resilience Facility
Recovery and Resilience Facility project map
Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard