16/12/2020 (Agence Europe) – MEPs and the Council of the EU were continuing their negotiations on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the instrument at the heart of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan, on Wednesday 16 December, at the time of going to press (see EUROPE 12622/20). The day before, the trilogue had not been concluded, with MEPs deploring on Tuesday evening the lack of a mandate from the German EU Council Presidency at technical level. The duration of the Facility is expected to be three years for commitment appropriations, with payments being made until 2026. On governance, the adoption of national recovery plans should be done through EU Council implementing acts, with Parliament calling for a right of scrutiny over the monitoring of the implementation of the Facility. (MB)