NextGenerationEU: Commission launches open public consultation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Yesterday, the Commission launched an open public consultation to gather views on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the key instrument at the heart of the EUR 800 billion NextGenerationEU recovery plan for Europe.

The RRF was established in February 2021, in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, to support Member States’ economic and social recovery. It has been a vital response to the pandemic-induced economic downturn, delivering reforms and investments, fast-forwarding the green and digital transitions and increasing the Union’s overall resilience. The RRF also remains at the core of our efforts to address the priorities linked to the EU’s energy security, industrial competitiveness, and the industrial transition to a net-zero economy.

Since its creation two years ago, the RRF has had a transformative impact on Member States’ economies, for instance driving reforms of the civil and criminal justice systems in Italy, labour market reforms in Spain, improving affordable housing in Latvia, promoting investments in offshore renewables in Greece and enabling the digitalisation of schools and businesses in Portugal. This concrete, positive impact is being recognised by citizens and stakeholders. A Eurobarometer published in January 2023 showed that the RRF is closely aligned with people’s expectations and needs.

The implementation of the RRF is now fully underway and can be kept track of on the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. To date, the Commission has disbursed over EUR 144 billion under the RRF. Many more disbursements are expected as we move towards the second half of the RRF’s lifetime.

To take stock of the lessons learnt so far and in line with the legal requirements of the RRF Regulation, the Commission is now carrying out a mid-term evaluation. It will assess, amongst other things, how the RRF is working on the ground, to what extent its objectives have been achieved to date, and how efficiently the funds disbursed have been spent. The findings of this consultation will be analysed and summarised in a synopsis report, and will feed into the mid-term evaluation report due in February 2024.

Citizens, social partners, and other stakeholders can provide feedback on the Have Your Say portal. The questionnaire is available in all EU languages and will be open for 12 weeks. It will be complemented by a series of targeted consultations aimed at specific categories of stakeholders throughout the year.