On Thursday 31 August, Poland, Hungary and Croatia each submitted a revised recovery plan to the European Commission, including a chapter aimed at speeding up the energy transition and reducing dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.
Poland. The ‘REPowerEU’ chapter of the Polish recovery plan contains new investments (deployment of electricity distribution networks in rural areas, infrastructure to promote diversification of gas supply) and investments already planned initially, but which have been reinforced (support for electricity transmission networks, renewable energy sources, energy storage, low or zero emission buses and offshore wind farms).
It also includes new reform proposals concerning energy communities, regulatory aspects relating to the distribution network and measures to facilitate the deployment of technologies for the energy transition.
In total, the revised Polish recovery plan will benefit from European financial aid of almost €60 billion (€25.26 billion in the form of grants and €34.5 billion in the form of loans).
The Council of the EU adopted the initial Polish recovery plan in June 2022 (see EUROPE 12974/6). No instalment of European financial aid has yet been paid out, as Poland has not finalised the necessary preliminary measures.
Hungary. The ‘REPowerEU’ chapter of the Hungarian recovery plan includes a wide range of reforms and measures aimed at reducing Hungary’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, according to a Commission press release. This includes increasing energy storage capacity and the integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid, as well as measures to improve the energy efficiency of public and private buildings.
In total, the revised Hungarian recovery plan will benefit from EU financial aid of €10.4 billion (€6.5 billion in grants, €3.9 billion in loans).
The Council of the EU adopted Hungary’s initial recovery plan in December 2022 (see EUROPE 13082/2). As in the case of Poland, no instalment of European financial aid has yet been paid out, as Hungary has not finalised the necessary preliminary measures.
See the ‘REPowerEU’ chapter: https://aeur.eu/f/8eo
Croatia. The ‘REPowerEU’ chapter of the Croatian recovery plan highlights measures to strengthen energy security, the deployment of renewable energies, energy efficiency in buildings, sustainable mobility and ‘green’ hydrogen.
In total, the revised Croatian recovery plan will receive financial assistance from the EU to the tune of €10.2 billion (€5.8 billion in grants and €4.4 billion in loans). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)