The Presidency outlined the main elements of the agreement with the European Parliament and the next steps, while the Commission provided horizontal information about the preparation of the national plans and ministers shared their experiences with the preparations. The European Parliament is due to vote on the regulation establishing the facility at its February plenary session, prior to its formal adoption by the Council. Ministers also listened to and debated the Commission plan for tackling non-performing loans (NPLs) in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis is expected to lead to an increase in NPL ratios. The Portuguese presidency presented its priorities for economic and financial affairs for the duration of its term, which runs from January to June 2021. The priorities are relaunching the economy in Europe, particularly through the Recovery and Resilience Facility; strengthening the Economic and Monetary Union; and addressing new challenges, including the green and digital transitions. As part of the 2021 European Semester exercise, ministers exchanged views on the conclusions on the 2021 alert mechanism report and the draft recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area. They also took stock of the work on legislative proposals in the field of financial services and reviewed the main findings of the latest EIB Investment Survey.