Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility announced that the Council of Member States has given the green light to modified plans for the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain. According to a European statement in Brussels, the Council endorsed the European Commission's positive assessment of the modified recovery and resilience plans submitted by the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain. According to the Commission's analysis, the targeted modifications do not affect the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency of the recovery and resilience plans.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands has submitted a request to modify 17 measures. The request for modification was prompted by the unachievable nature of these measures, the implementation of better alternatives, and the reduction of the administrative burden. The plan now amounts to €5.4 billion.
Portugal
The modifications requested by Portugal on February 3, 2025, concern 108 measures. These measures relate to the implementation of better alternatives, the reduction of the administrative burden, and the replacement of unachievable measures. The plan's value is still estimated at approximately €22 billion in grants and loans. Slovakia
The Slovak amendments concern 57 measures. For example, adjustments were made due to better implementation alternatives. The total estimated cost of the plan remains at €6.4 billion.
Spain
On March 21, 2025, Spain submitted a request to amend its Recovery and Resilience Plan. The amendment concerns twelve measures. These measures relate, among other things, to reducing the administrative burden and removing unnecessary procedural elements. Spain requested an extension of one of the targets due to the October 2024 floods, which made it impossible to achieve this target. The value of the plan remains unchanged at €163 billion in grants and loans.
According to the European Union institutions in Brussels, the Rapid Response Fund is the European Union's large-scale financial support program in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to the European economy. It is the centerpiece of the NextGenerationEU program, a temporary recovery tool that enables the Commission to raise funds to help repair the direct economic and social damage caused by the pandemic. To benefit from this mechanism, Member States must submit recovery and resilience plans to the Commission, outlining the reforms and investments they intend to implement by the end of August 2026.
To date, all recovery and resilience plans have been approved, 86 payment requests have been received, and more than €311 billion has been disbursed.