Meeting by video conference, EU Finance Ministers approved, on Monday 6 September, the recovery plans of the Czech Republic (see EUROPE 12765/16) and Ireland (see EUROPE 12764/15) as part of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
“I am very happy to announce some good news today. Czechia and Ireland will soon be able to begin putting their recovery and resilience plans into effect”, said the Slovenian Finance Minister, Andrej Šircelj, after the meeting.
The formal adoption of these plans, which will take place in writing in a few days, will allow the two countries to sign a financial agreement with the Commission for the disbursement of the European aid in accordance with the milestones set out in their national plans. The Czech Republic will benefit from pre-financing equivalent to 13% of its overall plan, which is set at €7 billion in grants only. Ireland, on the other hand, has indicated that it does not wish to benefit from the pre-financing, out of a total envelope of €989 million in grants only.
Asked about potential conflicts of interest involving beneficiaries of the Czech recovery plan, the Slovenian minister said the issue had not been raised during Monday’s meeting.
For the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Mr Dombrovskis, the negotiations between the EU institution and Prague prior to the validation of the Czech plan made it possible to address certain “identified weaknesses”. The eight specific milestones, the fulfilment of which will be a condition for the approval of subsequent financial tranches, will allow for “close monitoring” of the implementation of the Czech plan, he assured.
For more information on both plans:
- Ireland (decision: https://bit.ly/3zE4oKx and annex: https://bit.ly/2WMSv6M )
- Czech Republic (decision: https://bit.ly/3zEYQzH and annex: https://bit.ly/3td11b9 )
Regarding the Slovenian plan, adopted by the EU Council at the end of July (see EUROPE 12769/1), Mr Šircelj said that he had signed the financial agreement between his country and the Commission and that the agreement had been transmitted to the EU institution, with the pre-financing payment expected to be made during “September”. Croatia, Cyprus and Latvia are also expected to receive their first tranche of aid soon (see EUROPE 12781/12).
At this stage, the Commission has already paid €48.5 billion in pre-financing to nine Member States (see EUROPE 12777/11). It is still assessing the plans of seven other Member States: Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Bulgaria and the Netherlands have yet to submit their national recovery plans at European level.
Rule of law. The assessments of the Hungarian and Polish plans, based on the eleven criteria set out in the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation, are the most problematic, as they relate to the respect of the Rule of law in these two countries.
Mr Dombrovskis confirmed that one of the issues discussed with the Polish authorities is “the primacy of EU law and its potential implications for the implementation of the Polish plan” as the Polish Constitutional Court has again postponed, this time until the end of September, a ruling related to the primacy of EU law. On the Hungarian side, the assessment, which has been extended until the end of September, is also being carried out “in the context of respect for the Rule of law”, said the Commission’s Executive Vice-President.
The approval of a national recovery plan requires the establishment of systems of audit and control of budgetary expenditure by Member States and the implementation of a significant part of the Commission’s country-specific recommendations to EU countries, notably on the respect of the Rule of law. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)