Economic and Financial Affairs

Launched on 15 December, the Scoreboard is first and foremost a tool to transparently display information to EU citizens on the RRF's implementation. It will also serve as a basis to prepare the Commission's annual reports on the implementation of the RRF and the review report to the European Parliament and the Council, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Dialogue between the Parliament and the Commission. The Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard website contains dedicated sections on the fulfilment of milestones and targets and on RRF disbursements. It also has specific data compiled by the Commission, such as the expenditure per policy area and a breakdown of green, digital and social expenditure under the Facility. The scoreboard also provides qualitative information through thematic analyses of the implementation of the plans in specific policy areas.

Taking note of the letter of the President of the Eurogroup of 10 December 2021 and of the Eurogroup Statement on the Draft Budgetary Plans for 2022, leaders also underscored the importance of continued close coordination of euro area fiscal policies, with the objective of firmly establishing a sustainable and inclusive recovery. They emphasised the importance of completing the Banking Union and of a deep, integrated and well-functioning Capital Markets Union. To that end, they look forward to the entry into force of the agreement amending the Treaty on the European Stability Mechanism and the early introduction of the backstop to the Single Resolution Fund. They also reaffirmed their commitment to the Banking Union, requesting that the Eurogroup in inclusive format finalise a work plan to bring the Banking Union to completion. Lastly, EU leaders called for accelerating progress in the deepening of the Capital Markets Union.

On the same day, a disbursement of €41.1 million was made to Malta in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the RRF. The pre-financing payments will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in each country’s recovery and resilience plan. Estonia is set to receive €969.3 million in total, fully consisting of grants, over the lifetime of its plan, while Malta is set to receive €316.4 million in total, also fully consisting of grants, over the lifetime of its plan. Since June 2021, the Commission has raised €71 billion for NextGenerationEU via long-term EU-Bonds, including €12 billion through the first ever NextGenerationEU green bond issuance. On 14 December, the Commission published its funding plan for the first semester of 2022. The plan foresees the issuance of €50 billion in long-term EU-Bonds between January and June 2022, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills. In addition, the Commission currently has around €20 billion in EU-Bills outstanding. Part of NextGenerationEU, the RRF will provide €723.8 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across Member States.

The plan announced on 14 December foresees the issuance of €50 billion in long-term EU-Bonds between January and June 2022, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills. On that basis, the Commission will continue to be able to cover all payments due under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and all other programmes under the NextGenerationEU recovery instrument over that period. The current funding plan is based on the latest forecasts for forthcoming NextGenerationEU payment needs. Given that the Recovery and Resilience Facility – which accounts for 90% of payments under NextGenerationEU – is a performance-based instrument and that payments in 2022 will be conditional on the completion of the milestones and targets in Member States' national Recovery and Resilience Plans, the precise funding needs and timing of payments may vary. Any changes will be communicated to the market in a timely and transparent way. The day also marks the Commission's adoption of the Annual Borrowing Decision for 2022. This decision includes the maximum amounts that the Commission is authorised to borrow by the end of the year.

Social economy organisations are entities which put social and environmental purposes first, reinvesting most of their profit back into the organisation. There are 2.8 million social economy entities in Europe that employ 13.6 million people, and which offer solutions to key challenges in our societies. They span a diverse range of sectors and forms, from care services to recycling, and from cooperatives to social enterprises. Enhanced support to the social economy not only creates jobs, but also allows organisations to increase their social impact across the EU. The Social Economy Action Plan smooths the way for social economy organisations to prosper and grow. With the Action Plan, the Commission aims to create the right conditions for the social economy to thrive; open opportunities for social economy organisations to start up and scale up; and make sure the social economy and its potential are recognized.

EU annual inflation was 5.2% in November 2021, up from 4.4% in October. A year earlier, the rate was 0.2%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. The lowest annual rates were registered in Malta (2.4%), Portugal (2.6%) and France (3.4%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Lithuania (9.3%), Estonia (8.6%) and Hungary (7.5%). Compared with October, annual inflation remained stable in one Member State and rose in twenty-six. In November, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from energy (+2.57 percentage points, pp), followed by services (+1.16 pp), non-energy industrial goods (+0.64 pp) and food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.49 pp).