Following its assessment of the payment request submitted on 9 December 2024, the Commission has preliminarily concluded that Estonia has satisfactorily completed the 18 milestones and targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision for the third instalment.
A wide range of reforms will drive positive change for citizens and businesses, incentivising the uptake of sustainable modes of transport and renewable energy, improving digital public services, reducing the gender pay gap and strengthening the resilience of the Estonian health system. The request also covers important investments in areas such as renewable energy production, sustainable mobility through the construction of Rail Baltic viaducts, and digital services with transition to cloud infrastructure.
Flagship measures in this payment request include:
- A comprehensive change in the organisation of health care in Estonia: this reform improves the resilience of the Estonian health system, including for coping with crises, thus ensuring that people have access to high-quality, integrated healthcare throughout Estonia. It foresees a reimbursement system for nurses, incentivising them to work in remote areas, and an increase in the admission of persons to nursing training.
- Deployment of resource-efficient green technologies: this investment improves the resource efficiency of companies, including energy efficiency, with a particular focus on the valorisation of underutilised bio-resources such as residues and by-products. It includes the award of grants to 36 projects for green technologies for industrial plants and for valorisation of bioresources.
Next steps
The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Estonia’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 Estonia can take place following the EFC’s opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.
Background
Estonia’s overall recovery and resilience plan will be financed by €953 million in grants.
You can find more information on Estonia’s Recovery and Resilience plan on this page, which features an interactive map of projects financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), as well as on the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. More information on the process of payment requests under the RRF can be found in this document of questions and answers.
Source – EU Commission