EU’s Recovery Fund: Positive Assessments for Estonia’s, Finland’s, and Romania’s Plans
On October 28, Economy and finance ministers welcomed the assessment of national recovery and resilience plans for Estonia, Finland, and Romania. Council implementing decisions on the approval of these plans will be adopted by written procedure.
Following the formal adoption of the decisions, those member states will be able to receive the requested 13% pre-financing and begin making use of the EU’s large-scale financial support to overcome the adverse impact of the pandemic on their economies. The EU’s recovery fund makes €672.5 billion (in 2018 prices) available to support reforms and investments member states make to stimulate their economies, while prioritising green and digital spending.
“I’m happy to be able to share good news for three more member states. We have just confirmed the positive assessments for the recovery and resilience plans of Estonia, Finland, and Romania. They will soon be able to receive their pre-financing payment from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The reforms and investments outlined in their plans strongly support the European green and digital agenda. By addressing the key challenges, the overall European recovery will be more sustainable and more resilient,” Andrej Šircelj, Slovenia’s Minister for Finance, stated.
Key measures
Estonia’s €969.3 million plan includes efforts to decarbonise the economy and aims at developing innovative green technologies such as green hydrogen. It also facilitates the green transition for businesses and improves access to green finance for SMEs. In terms of digital transformation, the plan centres on the competitiveness of Estonian companies and includes financial support to SMEs and microenterprises across all sectors to help them on their digital path.
Finland’s €2.1 billion will contribute to its goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035. The measures Finland outlined in its recovery plan encompass increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix, decarbonising industry, reducing emissions of buildings, and promoting low-emission transport systems. The plan’s digital component includes investments in high-speed broadband networks and supports the digitalization of businesses and the public sector.
Phasing out coal and lignite power production and deploying renewables, as well as making investments and reforms in the areas of buildings renovation, railways modernisation, water and waste management, and afforestation and reforestation are measures Romania plans to implement to reach its climate objectives. Its €14.2 billion in grants and €14.9 billion in loans will also be used, among other things, to digitalise the country’s public services and strengthen the resilience of the healthcare system.
Background and next steps
The measures approved in the national plans focus on six key policy areas (‘pillars’) and address 2019 and 2020 country-specific recommendations. Reaching milestones and targets set for the planned measures is the precondition for the payment of the EU’s financial contributions.
Once Estonia’s, Finland’s and Romania’s plans have been formally approved, 22 member states will have had their national recovery plans adopted. 17 member states have received their requested pre-financing. The total amount disbursed so far is around €52.4 billion.
