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The Commission has today received an official recovery and resilience plan from Ireland and Sweden. These plans set out the reforms and public investment projects that each Member State 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 these plans follows intensive dialogue between the Commission and the national authorities of these Member States over the past number of months.
Sweden’s recovery and resilience plan
Sweden has requested a total of €3.2 billion in grants under the RRF.
The Swedish plan is structured around five components: green recovery; education and transition into work; meeting demographic challenges; expansion of broadband and digitalisation of public administration; and investment for growth and housing. 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. The plan proposes projects in six of the seven European flagship areas.
Ireland’s recovery and resilience plan
Ireland has requested a total of €1 billion in grants under the RRF.
The Irish plan is structured around three priority areas: advancing the green transition, accelerating and expanding digital reforms and transformation, and social and economic recovery and job creation. Projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026. The plan proposes projects in all seven European flagship areas.
Next steps
The Commission will now assess the plans 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 plans contribute 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 plans dedicate 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 for a Council Implementing Decision.
The Commission has now received 21 recovery and resilience plans from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, and Sweden. It will continue to engage intensively with the remaining Member States to help them deliver high quality plans.
