Economic and Financial Affairs

The implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), at the heart of the EU's recovery instrument NextGenerationEU, is speeding up, fostering continuous reform and investment progress in Member States. As of today, the Commission received 69 payment requests from 25 Member States and disbursed over €267 billion, i.e. more than 40% of the available RRF funding.

An interim evaluation has found that, halfway through its lifetime, InvestEU has already unlocked €218 billion in additional investments, with 90% of the EU guarantee allocated. The evaluation confirms the programme's essential role in bridging investment gaps in strategic EU policy priorities and mobilising private and public investments.

The payment request submitted by the Netherlands covers reforms, including in areas such as environmental taxation, the housing market, the pension system, self-employment as well as the digital transformation of the central government. It also covers investments in areas such as rail traffic management and the research and development of quantum technologies.

The payment request submitted by Belgium covers reforms including in areas such the deployment of 5G and fibre optic networks, the reform of company car taxation with a green perspective, and the promotion of employee participation in training. It also included investments to equip schools with digital equipment and to develop a strategy to enable older people to live independently at home for longer.