Commission endorses Austria’s €4 billion modified recovery and resilience plan, including a REPowerEU chapter

© European Union, 2021© European Union, 2021

Today, the Commission has positively assessed Austria’s and Sweden’s modified recovery and resilience plans, which both include a REPowerEU chapter. The Commission has also positively assessed Denmark’s REPowerEU chapter.

Austria’s REPowerEU chapter includes two new reforms, one new investment as well as a scale-up of an investment in the original plan to help deliver on the REPowerEU Plan‘s objective to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. The chapter focuses on accelerating the take-up of renewable energy, renewable hydrogen, and decarbonising road transport.

Sweden’s REPowerEU chapter includes one reform, as well as a scale-up of two existing investments. The new reform aims at speeding up the authorisation process for the construction of electricity grids. The two scaled up investments aim at improving energy efficiency in multi-dwelling buildings, rental dwellings, and student housing.

Denmark’s REPowerEU chapter consists of one new reform and four new investments. These measures focus on simplifying permitting procedures for wind and solar energy on land, increasing offshore wind energy production capacity and up- and reskilling for the green transition. In addition, Denmark also scaled up two investments that were included in its original plan. These centre on capture, use and storage of carbon and on replacing fossil fuel heating systems by sustainable systems like heat pumps.