On Monday 4 May, the European Commission published guidelines for finalising post-Covid-19 recovery plans, with Member States required to implement their investments and reforms by the end of August 2026 and submit their payment claims by the end of September.
In order to be able to assess their requests, the EU institution is asking Member States not to submit any revisions to their national plans after the end of May. After this deadline, it will no longer be able to commit to providing an assessment enabling the EU Council to approve a revised plan before the end of August.
Although the European recovery plan, Next Generation EU, will come to an end at the end of 2026, the Commission reminds Member States that certain obligations will continue to apply beyond that date, particularly in terms of reporting on the main beneficiaries of European funds, as well as audits and ex-post controls, which may continue into 2027, and potentially into 2028. EU countries must also be prepared, if necessary, to take action to recover European funds in the event of embezzlement.
In addition, in order to ensure a consistent approach, the Commission is asking Member States to keep all data relating to their national recovery plans until at least the end of 2031.
See the Commission’s guidelines: https://aeur.eu/f/lsy (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)