– All EU Member States can propose changes to their recovery and resilience plans by 30 April –

The amendment proposed and negotiated at European level by MEP Victor Negrescu, together with the Romanian Social-Democrat Delegation in the European Parliament, to facilitate the adjustment of the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RPPs) to the current geopolitical and energy situation has been transposed into a new European Union regulation, adopted with 535 votes in favor, 63 against and 53 abstentions, during today’s plenary session.

“We did it! The demands of the Romanian Social-Democrat Delegation in the European Parliament, contained in the amendment we proposed and negotiated at European level, whereby the Recovery and Resilience Plans can be amended more easily, have been transposed into European regulations. The European Commission has forwarded to the Member States a new guide on how to introduce these changes”, said MEP Victor Negrescu.

Under the new regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the core pillar of the EU’s NextGenerationEU post-pandemic recovery programme, member states will be able to request a revision of their Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), based on Article 21, if they prove that the current geopolitical context and its impact on energy, food, building material and inflation prices have directly affected the ability to implement the measures included in the plan. According to the amendment tabled by Social Democrat MEP Victor Negrescu, “if a Member State can demonstrate that the achievement of an objective or target conflicts with the ultimate objectives of REPowerEU, (the plan to reduce the Union’s dependence on fossil fuels from the Russian Federation and accelerate the green transition), then it may cite the circumstances of the revision of the plan, under the review regime provided for in the same article of the Regulation”.

The amendment is due to enter into force in April but will apply retroactively from 1 February.

Below, there are several general ideas taken from the amendment and set out in the new Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation, which allows for the rapid revision of RRPs, and the inclusion of a chapter dedicated to the REPowerEU plan:

–           it is recommended that all amendments to the plan be proposed by 30 April 2023.

–           changes can be justified in terms of the impact of the war in Ukraine or changes in economic and trade flows.

–           the scope of the improvements can cover both projects and reforms and must still be in line with the country-specific recommendations and general elements of the Regulation, with a focus on maintaining climate and digital objectives.

–           the European Commission will come up with a quicker response to these changes and will support Member States in this regard. The swift amendment of the RRPs also helps member states to fulfill their obligation to access the European funds available under the RRF.

Following the launch of the NextGenerationEU post-pandemic recovery plan in 2020, the European economy has paved the way for accelerated green and digital transitions. However, these twin transitions are now taking place in a disrupted global context, facing new uncertainties in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, making it clearer than ever that increasing the Union’s security of energy supply and reducing the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels is vital for a successful and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, considering the direct links between a sustainable recovery, strengthening the Union’s resilience and the Union’s energy security, the European Parliament and EU leaders supported the need to adapt national recovery and resilience plans to the current context and acknowledged that the new challenges have affected their implementation capacity as previously drafted. Thus, the European Commission has proposed to amend Regulation (EU) 2021/241 establishing the RRF to enhance its potential to support reforms and investments dedicated to reducing energy dependence from Russia and accelerating the environmental transition. More specifically, the Commission encourages Member States to include a chapter in the RRPs dedicated to the REPowerEU plan, complementary to the reforms and investments already contained within their framework.

As such, given that the current context of high inflation and rising prices affects European citizens in energy poverty the most, MEP Victor Negrescu called for the measures included in the REPowerEU chapter to give appropriate priority to their needs, so that the European response can lead to reduced vulnerabilities in the run-up to winter.

He also made sure that the REPowerEU chapter would include measures to help improve energy efficiency and included references to investment schemes specifically targeted at vulnerable households, SMEs and micro-enterprises.