On Thursday 23 November, the European Commission approved the revised post-Covid-19 recovery plans for Hungary and Ireland.
With a budget of €10.4 billion, including €3.9 billion in loans, the revised Hungarian plan includes a €4.6 billion ‘REPowerEU’ chapter designed to increase the energy transition and reduce dependence on Russian hydrofluorocarbons (see EUROPE 13241/2). This chapter includes measures such as deploying renewable energies, improving energy efficiency, promoting less polluting transport, and training and retraining workers in light of the needs of the climate and digital transitions.
When asked about a possible concession to the Hungarian authorities, despite Budapest’s attacks on the European Union’s institutions and policies, the Commission indicated that it was only scrupulously applying the regulations establishing the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ (RRF).
As a result, no financial aid instalments will be paid to the Hungarian authorities for the whole of the revised plan until all the measures (‘super milestones’) have been implemented, in particular those relating to the independence of the judicial system and the protection of the EU’s financial interests, which were required when the initial Hungarian plan was adopted at the end of 2022. However, as in the case of the revised Polish recovery plan (see EUROPE 13297/17), pre-financing of €920 million will only be possible for measures included in the ‘REPowerEU’ chapter of the revised Hungarian plan if the Council of the EU adopts the latter.
Read the Commission’s positive assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/9pe
Ireland. On Thursday, the Commission also positively assessed Ireland’s revised recovery plan, which now has a budget of €914 million.
The plan aims to improve the energy efficiency of public buildings, promote less polluting transport, invest in social housing, retrain workers and reduce the risk of a digital divide.
More information on the Irish plan: https://aeur.eu/f/6zy (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)