On Friday 29 September, the European Commission approved the revised post-Covid-19 recovery plans for the Netherlands and Slovenia, each of which contains a ‘REPowerEU’ chapter designed to accelerate the energy transition and reduce dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.
With €5.4 billion in the form of grants alone, the revised Dutch plan is much more focused on the ecological transition, with 55% of the funds supporting the achievement of climate objectives, compared with 48% in the initial recovery plan (see EUROPE 13218/23).
There will be a substantial increase in the budget allocation for a subsidy that helps businesses and households invest in energy savings (heat pumps, thermal insulation, solar boilers). In addition, the production of renewable energies will be encouraged by speeding up the procedures for granting permits and improving the connection of renewable energies to the electricity grid. Sustainable mobility, such as zero-emission inland waterway transport, will be promoted.
See the revised Dutch recovery plan (in Dutch): https://aeur.eu/f/8t7
Slovenia. The ‘REPowerEU’ chapter of Slovenia’s revised plan aims to support businesses in their efforts to decarbonise, modernise electricity distribution networks and extend charging points for electric vehicles. The production of renewable energy will be facilitated, as will the deployment of zero-emission vehicles.
Since the presentation of their revised plan (see EUROPE 13224/23), the Slovenian authorities have called in additional loans, increasing the plan’s allocation to €2.7 billion, including €1 billion in loans. The funds will be used in particular to renovate stations and sections of the rail network affected by the floods that hit the country this summer.
For more information on the revised Slovenian plan (in Slovenian): https://aeur.eu/f/844 ; https://aeur.eu/f/845 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)