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Secretaría de Estado de Presupuestos y Gastos. Secretaría General de Fondos Europeos. Dirección General del Plan y del Mecanismo de Recuperación y Resiliencia
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Recovery and Resilience Facility

Mapa del Mecanismo de Recuperación y Resiliencia

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is the centrepiece of the NEXT GENERATION EU programme, making €723.8 billion in grants and loans available to Member States. The aim is to boost activity and job creation to counteract the impact of the pandemic in the short term, support a process of structural transformation to allow increased potential growth in the medium term and strengthen resilience in the long term, moving towards more sustainable and inclusive development.

The Recovery Facility is a direct management instrument. Disbursements are therefore made on the basis of compliance with a series of pre-determined Milestones and Targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision (CID).

For more information, see: The Recovery and Resilience Facility

What are the regulations governing the Recovery and Resilience Facility?

The Community legislation governing the Facility is Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of 12 February 2021, which establishes the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF Regulation).

The Regulation establishes that the Community Recovery and Resilience Facility is based on six pillars aimed at promoting economic recovery, creating jobs and laying the foundations for a stronger and more resistant European Union:

  1. Ecological transition
  2. Digital transformation
  3. Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
  4. Social and territorial cohesion
  5. Economic, social and institutional health and resilience
  6. Policies for the next generation, children and youth

In order to be financed through the Facility, the projects put forward in the national plans must comply with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2021/241, of 12 February 2021. Specifically, the following horizontal principles set out in Article 5:

  • Support from the Facility shall not, unless in duly justified cases, substitute recurring national budgetary expenditure and shall respect the principle of additionality of Union funding (Article 5 of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation).
  • Principle of 'do no significant harm': the Facility should finance activities that fully respect the Union's climate and environmental standards and priorities and the principle of 'do no significant harm' set out in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the Taxonomy Regulation) which addresses six objectives: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, the sustainable use of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control and the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems (Article 5 of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation).
  • More information is available in theCommission Notice: Technical Guidance on the application of ‘do no significant harm’ under the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation. More information is available in the Commission Notice Technical Guidance on the application of ‘do no significant harm’ under the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation.

  • Use of the funds extended through the Facility must be in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, including the effective prevention and detection of fraud, particularly tax fraud, tax evasion, corruption and conflicts of interests (Article 22 of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation).
What is green and digital tagging?

In order to transform the economy and make it more resilient, national recovery and resilience plans must put the EU on a path towards climate neutrality and the digital transition through reforms and investments. For this reason, the measures supported by the Facility and included in the Member States' national recovery and resilience plans must contribute to the green and digital transitions, with at least 37% of the total allocation being earmarked for the former 20% for the latter.

To calculate the contribution to the green and digital transitions, the RRF Regulation has established a “methodology for climate tracking" (green tagging) and a "methodology for digital tagging under the Facility", referred to in Annexes VI and VII ofRegulation (UE) 2021/241, of 12 February 2021.

37%
Green transition
20%
Digital transition
What is the timetable for the implementation of the Facility?

Once the national plans were officially submitted to Brussels, the Commission proceeded to evaluate them based on a series of transparent criteria. In particular, the Commission assessed whether the plans contribute effectively to addressing the economic problems previously identified in its European Semester recommendations, whether they contain measures that contribute effectively to the green and digital transitions and whether they contribute to strengthening the growth potential, job creation and economic and social resilience of the Member State concerned (Article 18 of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation).

On 16 June 2021, the European Commission announced its positive evaluation of Spain’s Plan, rating it as “excellent”. This was a crucial step towards the European Union disbursing the 69.528 billion in Recovery and Resilience Facility grants to Spain. In its assessment, the Commission concluded that Spain had undertaken a broad set of mutually reinforcing reforms and investments that contribute effectively to tackling the economic and social challenges set out in the country-specific recommendations addressed to Spain in the 2019 and 2020 European Semesters.

Following the official receipt of the National Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience, the Commission had two months to evaluate it. After the Commission awarded it the aforementioned ‘excellent’ rating, the Council approved the Plan in its Council Implementing Decision (CID) on 13 July this year. Thus, after the signature of the Financing Agreement between Spain and the European Union and within a maximum period of two months, it will be possible to receive the funds corresponding to the pre-financing: up to 13% of the financial contribution, i.e. around EUR 9 billion.

What are the steps for receiving funds?

Once the relevant milestones and targets outlined in the national plans have been achieved, Member States must submit a request for disbursement to the Commission. Such requests for payment may be submitted no more than twice per year (Article 24 Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation).

The Commission, before taking the decision to authorize disbursement, shall request the opinion of the Economic and Financial Committee on the satisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets.