On Monday 3 June, the European Commission unveiled new guidelines designed to simplify the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the budgetary instrument of the Next Generation EU recovery plan, and to strengthen synergies with other EU budgetary instruments.
In line with the request of the Ecofin Council (see EUROPE 13390/9), the EU institution is reducing the administrative burden inherent in the RRF in order to speed up the implementation of national post-Covid-19 recovery plans, but without reducing the level of transparency or weakening the protection of the EU’s financial interests.
For example, the Commission is clarifying how Member States can request the modification of a ‘milestone’ included in a post-Covid-19 national recovery plan if the national competent authorities identify another, simpler solution for implementation. It sets out the circumstances in which certain operational arrangements should not be modified in the event of an amendment to the recovery plan.
At the same time, Member States’ reporting requirements will be reduced, in particular for bi-annual reports. The European Commission will also accept that Member States waive the provision of additional non-binding information (listed in Annex II of Regulation 2021/241 establishing the RRF). In its view, this information is not necessary in view of its strict assessment of interim payment claims.
In addition, the Commission’s guidelines aim to promote synergies between the RRF and other EU funds, while avoiding double funding. It also describes the process for amending the national recovery plans to allow funds to be transferred from the RRF to the InvestEU programme to support the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), which has been operational since 1 March (see EUROPE 13345/16), provided that the projects supported come to an end at the end of 2026.
The guidelines presented on Monday replace those adopted in February 2023, with the exception of the section devoted to the ‘REPowerEU’ chapters included in the recovery plans.
See the Commission’s guidelines: https://aeur.eu/f/chw (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)