The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is a temporary instrument that is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU -the EU’s plan to emerge stronger and more resilient from the current crisis.
Through the Facility, the Commission raises funds by borrowing on the capital markets (issuing bonds on behalf of the EU). These are then available to its Member States, to implement ambitious reforms and investments that:
- make their economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and prepared for the green and digital transitions, in line with the EU’s priorities;
- address the challenges identified in country-specific recommendations under the European Semester framework of economic and social policy coordination.
The RRF is also crucial for implementing the REPowerEU plan – the Commission’s response to the socio-economic hardships and global energy market disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
*With the amended RRF Regulation, additional grants under the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) have been made available to Member States. Therefore, the EUR 357 billion in grants is now split in EUR 338 billion of original RRF grants, EUR 17.3 billion in ETS grants and EUR 1.6 billion in BAR grants. Furthermore, Member States could request loan support until August 2023. Of the total available envelope of EUR 385 billion, close to EUR 291 billion has been committed by end 2023. These two changes (more grants available through ETS and BAR and less loans requested than the total available envelope) result in a total RRF envelope of EUR 648 billion by end 2023. The previously mentioned amount of EUR 723 billion represented the maximum amount of RRF grants (EUR 338 billion) and RRF loans (EUR 385 billion) according to the RRF Regulation.
- The Facility entered into force on 19 February 2021. It finances reforms and investments in EU Member States made from the start of the pandemic in February 2020 until 31 December 2026. Countries can receive financing up to a previously agreed maximum amount.
- To benefit from support under the Facility, EU governments have submitted national recovery and resilience plans, outlining the reforms and investments they will implement by end-2026, with clear milestones and targets. The plans had to allocate at least 37% of their budget to green measures and 20% to digital measures.
- The Recovery and Resilience Facility is performance based. This means that the Commission only pays out the amounts to each country when they have achieved the agreed milestones and targets towards completing the reforms and investments included in their plan.
- When they have completed the agreed milestones and targets, governments request payment (up to twice a year).
- The Commission assesses these requests for payment to check that the milestones and targets have been fulfilled. If so, it disburses the amounts it has raised on the capital markets.
Member States can revise their plans based on the available legal grounds under the RRF Regulation. The Guidance on Recovery and Resilience Plans in the context of REPowerEU of February 2023 describes in detail how Member States can request such amendments.
A revision can be linked to financial aspects, that is:
- to benefit from additional REPowerEU funds;
- to reflect a change in a Member State's maximum financial allocation under the RRF;
- resources needed in order to take up additional RRF loans.
Member States can also amend their plan if they can demonstrate that objective circumstances render the implementation of certain milestones and targets unfeasible. For example, those objective circumstances could be linked to inflation, shortages in the supply chain or the fact that there is a better alternative to fulfil the intended policy objective of a measure.
The RRF Regulation requires that the Commission provides the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions with a mid-term evaluation on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. This will be followed by an 'ex post evaluation' in 2028, once the measures included in the recovery plans are fully implemented.
![RepowerEU](/https/commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_ratio_3_2_medium/public/2023-05/repowereu.jpg?itok=gPUduQXr)
The REPowerEU plan recognised that the Recovery and Resilience Facility can play an important role in achieving secure, affordable and clean energy. By providing additional EU funding, the Facility will help EU countries make the critical reforms and investment needed to rapidly end their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
![European Semester](/https/commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_ratio_3_2_medium/public/2023-05/Semester.jpg?itok=NpZtsAJk)
Starting from its 2022 cycle, the European Semester process was adapted to take into account the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the implementation of the recovery and resilience plans.
![Scoreboard](/https/commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_ratio_3_2_medium/public/2023-05/scoreboardRRF.jpg?itok=o6iK9ztl)
The Scoreboard gives an overview of progress in implementing the Facility and the national recovery and resilience plans.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility in your country
Member States use the funds provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility to implement ambitious reforms and investment to make their economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and prepared for the green and digital transitions. Explore the pages below to find out about your country’s recovery and resilience plan and how it is being implemented.
![Country pages](/https/commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_ratio_3_2_medium/public/2023-05/mapRRF.jpg?itok=J7W5y0GN)
These pages contain all relevant country-specific information, including the recovery and resilience plans, the Commission’s assessment of the plans as well as information on payments requested by the Member States and funds paid out by the Commission.
![European Semester in your country](/https/commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_ratio_3_2_medium/public/2023-05/Semester%20-%20country.jpg?itok=nOHkCZcB)
This section brings together the country-specific documents related to the European Semester, notably (i) country reports, (ii) national programmes on reforms and fiscal adjustment, (iii) the assessment of these programmes, (iv) country-specific recommendations by the EU, and (v) draft budgetary plans.
Map of projects supported by the Recovery and Resilience Facility
This map provides examples of reforms and investments supported by the Recovery and Resilience Facility in the different EU Member States. It is not an exhaustive database of projects supported by the Facility and will be regularly updated as the implementation progresses. The funding amounts shown reflect the initial cost estimates included in the national recovery and resilience plans.
Green transition
Focusing on green technologies and capacities - sustainable mobility, energy efficiency and renewables, climate change adaptation; circular economy; and biodiversity.
Policies for the next generation
Improving access to and the quality of general, vocational, and higher education; focusing on digital education, early childhood education and care; supporting youth employment.
Smart, sustainable, inclusive growth
promoting entrepreneurship, competitiveness, industrialisation; improving the business environment; fostering research, development and innovation, supporting small- and medium-sized businesses.
Digital transformation
Promoting the roll-out of very high-capacity networks, the digitalisation of public services, government processes, and businesses, in particular SMEs; developing basic and advanced digital skills; supporting digital-related R&D and the deployment of advanced technologies.
Social and territorial cohesion
Improving social and territorial infrastructure and services, including social protection and welfare systems, the inclusion of disadvantaged groups; supporting employment and skills development; creating high-quality, stable jobs.
Health and economic, social and institutional resilience
Improving the resilience, accessibility and quality of health and long-term care, including measures to advance their digitalisation; increasing the effectiveness of public administration systems.
The map exclusively serves information purposes and is not an exhaustive database of projects supported by the Recovery and Resilience Facility. It does not reflect the distribution of the projects funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility across the European Union, nor across different geographical areas or sectors within EU Member States. The RRF funding amounts shown for measures are based on the initial cost estimates included in the recovery and resilience plans.
Furthermore, the projects showcased are without prejudice to any future assessment by the Commission in the context of verifying the satisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
- In August 2020, the European Commission established the Recovery and Resilience Task Force (RECOVER) within its Secretariat-General.
- Jointly with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, RECOVER is responsible for steering the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. RECOVER also coordinates the European Semester and reports to the Commission President.
- This group of experts serves as an important forum for the Commission and national governments to exchange views on cross-cutting aspects that arise in the context of implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
- The group consists of members of the national coordinating bodies for implementing the recovery and resilience plans and is jointly chaired by the RECOVER Taskforce within the European Commission’s Secretariat-General and the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs. It meets periodically with experts from each EU country to exchange views on the implementation of their recovery and resilience plans.
- Furthermore, it facilitates and promotes the exchange of good practice on many aspects of RRF implementation. The Commission publishes all relevant documents, such as agendas, minutes, reports, opinions, recommendations and others, on a dedicated website.
- INFORM EU is an EU-wide network of communication officers responsible for communicating about EU and national investments under certain EU funds, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility. More information and contacts.
- Recipients of EU funding have a general obligation to acknowledge the origin of any EU funding they have received and ensure that this fact is prominently displayed. This applies also to the funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. More information and guidance for national authorities on the communication and visibility requirements under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other EU funds can be found on the dedicated webs
- Fighting fraud is a priority for the European Commission. If you are aware of any fraudulent acts, please report them to the European Anti-Fraud Office.