The implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), at the heart of the EU's recovery instrument NextGenerationEU, is speeding up, fostering continuous reform and investment progress in Member States. As shown in the Commission's third Annual Report on the RRF adopted today, the Commission is supporting Member States in the full and timely delivery of their plans through more streamlined processes, and has further improved both transparency and mechanisms to protect the EU financial interests.

The RRF, with €650 billion in grants and loans, is a critical driver of ambitious investments and reforms across Member States, in initiatives that advance the green and digital transition, and strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the EU.

Since its inception, the RRF has driven over €82 billion in investments directly supporting businesses. Over 900 reforms are being delivered to cut red tape and speed up business processes to obtain permits and licenses for example, helping EU industry become more competitive. With RRF support, 34 million megawatts hours in energy consumption have been saved, over 11.8 million people have participated in education and training, and 9.8 million people benefitted from protection measures against climate-related disasters.

The Commission, Member States, and all relevant stakeholders, along with the European Parliament and Council, have worked closely together to achieve these results.

Over €300 billion in RRF funds expected to be disbursed by the end of 2024

Implementation and disbursements under the RRF have accelerated after some delays in 2023 largely linked to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, high inflation, supply constraints and the need to adopt REPowerEU chapters. To date, the Council has endorsed 26 such chapters, which provide additional funds to roll out reforms and investments that diversify the EU's energy supplies, accelerate the green transition, and support vulnerable households.

As of today, the Commission received 69 payment requests from 25 Member States and disbursed over €267 billion, i.e. more than 40% of the available RRF funding. By the end of the year, over €300 billion in RRF funds are expected to be disbursed. The report details numerous examples of how progress with reforms and investments across the six RRF policy pillars is having a tangible and positive impact on citizens and businesses alike.

The Union has also continued to successfully raise funds on the capital markets to finance the Facility, with more than €60.2 billion issued in NextGenerationEU Green Bonds to date.

Implementation by Member States made simpler

In view of the time-bound nature of the RRF, all efforts should remain focused on the full and timely implementation of the plans by 2026. Member States must continue to swiftly implement their RRPs in full, and the Commission is actively supporting them in these efforts.

In this context, the Commission took further steps in 2024 to support Member States in the implementation of the RRF. In July this year, the Commission introduced simpler processes in updated guidance to Member States, with a focus on how to revise plans, which will remain relevant to address implementation bottlenecks. Reporting requirements for Member States have also been streamlined. In addition, further clarity has been provided on ways to combine RRF with other EU funds to enhance synergies.

Reinforced transparency

The Commission is striving for high clarity and transparency in the implementation of the RRF, even beyond legal requirements.

For example, the report adopted today includes an in-depth analysis of Member States' data on the 100 largest final recipients of funding under the RRF. The Commission is also providing further guidance on key concepts in the RRF Regulation, for transparency and clarity, which are laid out in the annexes to the report:

• clarifying how the Commission determines when a reform or investment has started to ensure eligibility under the RRF;
• clarifying what the Commission considers as a recurring expenditure, which is prohibited as a general rule, and the criteria used to determine when an exemption is duly justified;
• the concept of double funding in the RRF context, and
• the notion of final recipients of RRF funds.

Robust protection of the financial interests of the Union

The protection of the EU's financial interests is a top priority for the Commission. Therefore, it continuously strengthens its audit and control framework, also taking into account the recommendations of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Court of Auditors. The Commission carried out 17 risk-based ex-post audits over the September 2023–August 2024 period on the satisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets. Four system audits of national control systems were also carried out. By the end of 2023, the Commission had audited all Member States at least once.

Background

This report is the third of a series of annual reports by the Commission, which cover the implementation of the RRF during its entire lifespan, as required by the RRF Regulation. It will feed into the ongoing dialogue on the RRF implementation both among the Union institutions and with stakeholders.

The information provided in the report is based on the content of the adopted recovery and resilience plans, as assessed by the Commission, on the data reported by Member States until April 2024 as part of their bi-annual reporting obligations, and on developments in the implementation of the RRF until 31 August 2024.

Progress in the implementation of recovery and resilience plans can be followed on the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, an online portal the Commission set up in December 2021. You can find more information on the RRF on this page, which features an interactive map of projects financed by the RRF.