The Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs have adopted the proposals tabled by MEP Victor Negrescu, rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, which will give member countries more time to implement National Recovery and Resilience Plans.

The report, which includes the measures proposed by Victor Negrescu, Social Democrat rapporteur for the Committee on Budgets, was adopted with 63 votes in favor, 12 against and 6 abstentions.

“We need concrete actions to ensure the completion of ongoing projects and the protection of European funds. Billions of euros and projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan can be saved because we succeeded in extending the implementation period by 18 months for mature projects.  We call for this extension to be applied based on objective, clear, and fair criteria set by the European Commission, to ensure transparency and fair treatment among all Member States. Moreover, it is important that projects which cannot be completed by 2026 can be continued through other European funding sources, such as the European Investment Fund or a possible new European competitiveness fund,” underlined Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament.

The main amendments tabled by the MEP and included in the document are:

• The 18-month extension of the implementation period for mature projects that cannot be completed by August 2026, through the amendment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation, if needed, by co-decision;
• This extension must be carried out by the European Commission based on objective, clear, and fair criteria;
• The establishment of a clear transfer mechanism for unfinished projects to other European funding sources in order to allow the completion of ongoing projects through alternative financing instruments, such as the European Investment Fund or a possible new European competitiveness fund.
• Speeding up the process of adapting National Recovery and Resilience Plans, both in the area of reforms and investment, so that Member States can respond to the challenges posed by geopolitical events
• As co-chair of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Education and Skills, Victor Negrescu has managed to ensure that this area has an important profile in the report. The paper reiterates the negotiating position of the European legislature to include targets for education (10%) and cultural activities (2%) and encourages the Commission’s effort to assess these targets as a benchmark in its evaluation of education policy in the NRRP through the Scoreboard for Recovery and Resilience;
• Application of the horizontal financial rules laid down in the Financial Regulation to facilitate the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, including fines, penalties and sanctions;
• EPPO’s role in protecting EU financial interests and fighting fraud;
• Financing cross-border energy projects, defense and digital innovation;
• Reducing administrative burden, for SMEs, social partners and beneficiaries from vulnerable groups

What is the state of implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans at European level that served as basis for the proposed amendments?

According to the assessment of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu, member countries have received 55% of the grants made available through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, i.e. €197.5 billion, and 37% of the loans, i.e. €108.7 billion in nominal terms.

The average achievement of reforms and targets is 28%.

There are differences between member countries when it comes to the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. Countries such as France (76.6%) and Germany (65.2%) have performed well, while Luxembourg (13.4%), Hungary (8.8%) or Sweden (0%) are struggling.

Given the situation, dozens of changes to plans have been proposed in recent months alone, due to the mismatch between initial targets and current needs or bureaucratic difficulties, which equate to hundreds of reforms and specific targets.

At the same time, more than half of the Member States had problems in submitting payment claims on time, while the European Commission exceeded the available assessment period for some of them.

Without the revision put forward by Victor Negrescu, the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism risks failing to meet its objective of helping member countries manage the social and economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the specific challenges of the double transition. 

The report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism is to be put to a vote in the European Parliament plenary in June.