Economic and Financial Affairs

The Commission disbursed the first €1 billion of this MFA package in early August. The remaining funds of up to €3 billion will be provided as soon as possible. The proposal announced on 7 September is part of the extraordinary effort by the EU, alongside the international community, to help Ukraine to address its soaring financial needs following the unprovoked and unjustified aggression by Russia. It is a key element of the overall short-term liquidity relief measures announced by the Commission in May 2022 and makes a sizeable contribution to closing the funding gap for the fourth quarter and thus maintaining stability. The proposal will complement the support already provided by the EU, including a €1.2 billion emergency MFA loan paid out in the first half of the year. Taken together, the two strands of the programme would bring the total MFA support to Ukraine since the beginning of the war to €7.2 billion and could reach up to €10 billion once the full package of exceptional MFA to Ukraine becomes operational this year.

This is a key step paving the way for the EU to disburse €4.7 billion in grants to the Netherlands under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This financing will support the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in the Netherlands' recovery and resilience plan. It will play a crucial role in enabling the Netherlands to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission assessed the Netherlands' plan based on the criteria set out in the RRF Regulation. The Commission's analysis considered, in particular, whether the investments and reforms contained in the Netherlands' plan support the green and digital transitions; contribute to effectively addressing challenges identified in the European Semester; and strengthen its growth potential, job creation and economic and social resilience.

The second tranche (another €500 million) was disbursed on 2 August. The decision about this new exceptional MFA was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 12 July 2022. This additional MFA of €1 billion is part of the extraordinary effort by the EU, alongside the international community, to help Ukraine to address its immediate financial needs following the unprovoked and unjustified aggression by Russia. It is the first part of the exceptional MFA package of up to €9 billion announced in the Commission's communication of 18 May 2022 and endorsed by the European Council of 23-24 June 2022. It complements the support already provided by the EU, including a €1.2 billion emergency MFA loan paid out in the first half of the year. Taken together, the two strands of the programme bring the total MFA support to Ukraine since the beginning of the war to €2.2 billion.

Following exchanges with the Greek authorities, including at the Eurogroup meeting of 16 June, the Commission acknowledged that Greece has delivered on the bulk of the policy commitments made to the Eurogroup upon its exit from the economic adjustment programme in June 2018, and that it has achieved effective reform implementation, even under the challenging circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, by Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. The Commission also noted that, as a result of Greece's efforts, the resilience of the Greek economy has substantially improved and the risks of spill-over effects on the Euro area economy have diminished significantly. Hence, maintaining Greece under enhanced surveillance is no longer justified. The monitoring of the country's economic, fiscal and financial situation will continue in the context of the post-programme surveillance (PPS) and the European Semester. The monitoring of the outstanding reform commitments will be undertaken in the context of the first PPS report to be issued in November 2022, which could serve as a basis for a Eurogroup decision on the final tranche of debt relief measures agreed in June 2018. Major reforms and investments are also foreseen in the Greek recovery and resilience plan. The Commission welcomed Greece's achievements and its commitment to continue reforms beyond the end of enhanced surveillance.

Once the Council approves this proposal, the financial support will be provided in the form of loans granted on favourable terms. These loans will help Bulgaria cover the costs related to the continuation of a wage subsidy scheme introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, thereby enabling Bulgaria to tackle the continued severe socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Bulgaria is the 8th Member State, together with Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Hungary, to ask for additional support on top of the support that the Council had already approved in 2020. SURE is a crucial element of the EU's comprehensive strategy to protect jobs and workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This proposal, if adopted, would bring the overall financial support granted under SURE to a total of €93.8 billion.

KfW Capital provided €10 million. The Green Generation Fund invests exclusively in sustainable startups that make significant progress in CO₂ avoidance, the circular economy, climate and resource protection, health promotion and biodiversity. The aim is to strengthen the new food tech and green tech industries and to contribute to CO₂ reduction in the agricultural and food sectors. Funding is provided, for example, for plant protein extraction and innovations in fermentation and cell cultivation. In addition, the reduction of shelf-life substances in the food industry as well as more sustainable packaging, supply chains, carbon capture solutions and green tech software are being considered. The EIF's investment is one of the first in Germany under the new InvestEU programme.

Bulgaria's comprehensive recovery and resilience plan will be funded with €5.68 billion in grants. RRF payments are performance-based and contingent on Bulgaria completing the investments and reforms outlined in its Recovery and Resilience Plan. This first request for payment is linked to 22 milestones and targets covering several reforms and investments in the areas of education, research and innovation, smart industry, climate neutrality, digital connectivity, sustainable transport and road safety, justice, anti-money laundering, social inclusion, healthcare and the audit and control system linked to the RRF. The Commission will now consider the request. It will then forward to the Council's Economic and Financial Committee its preliminary assessment of Bulgaria's compliance with the milestones and targets required for this payment.

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