The European Commission has approved the disbursement of some €4.1 billion in grants to Greece, Portugal, Austria, and Slovenia under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.
The disbursements follow reviews of reforms and investment plans set out in each country’s recovery and resilience plan, and form part of the Commission’s efforts to ‘support economic growth and strengthen the resilience of EU Member States’, it said in a statement.
Country by country
Grants totalling €2.1 billion will be disbursed to Greece after its sixth payment request under the RRF, with the grant set to support 39 milestones and targets in areas such as healthcare, education, public administration, and taxation, along with recent investments in renewable energy facilities.
Portugal will receive €1.06 billion grants following its seventh payment request under the RRF, with the grant supporting 27 milestones and targets across sectors such as healthcare, housing, forest-fire management, renewable energy, and the business environment.
Austria, meanwhile is set to receive €515.5 million in grants tied to its third payment request, to support 20 milestones and targets, including improving working conditions in long-term care, repair services for electronic devices, and deployment of photovoltaic systems.
Finally, the Commission will disburse €400.1 million in grants and €39.6 million in loans to Slovenia, after its fourth payment request, with this funding covering 27 milestones and targets, in areas such as long-term care, energy efficiency, railway infrastructure, and digital education and science.
‘Performance-based grants’
‘As with all Member States, payments to Greece, Portugal, Austria and Slovenia under the RRF are performance-based, contingent upon the successful implementation of their recovery and resilience plans,’ the European Commission said in a statement.
‘The favourable opinion of the Economic and Financial Committee of the Council on the payment requests paved the way for the Commission to adopt a final decision on the disbursement of the funds.’ Read more here.
