Implementation report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility

The European Parliament adopted by 421 votes to 180 with 55 abstentions a resolution on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

Strengthening Europe's social and economic resilience

The RRF, a unique solidarity instrument and cornerstone of the NextGenerationEU instrument, has played a key role in preventing the fragmentation of the internal market and the increase in macroeconomic divergences, in promoting social and territorial cohesion through macroeconomic stabilisation and in providing guarantees to capital markets.

Members are, however, concerned that the expiry of the RRF in 2026 poses a significant risk of a substantial decrease in public investment in common European priorities. They are concerned that the short timeframe for the remaining RRF implementation poses challenges to deliver the key reforms and large-scale investments that need to be finalised towards the end of the RRF and to achieve the remaining 70% of milestones and targets on time.

Parliament recalled that RRF expenditure should not replace recurring national budgetary expenditure, unless duly justified, and should respect the principle of additionality of EU funding. It reiterated its call to focus RRF interventions on measures with European added value and therefore deplored the lack of viable cross-border or multi-national measures, including dual-use high-speed rail and sustainable mobility projects that are essential for completing the TEN-T network, as well as the related risk of renationalisation of funding.

Design and implementation of NRRPs

Parliament noted that 47% of the available funds under the RRF had been disbursed by 31 December 2024, with grants reaching 55% and loans 37%, resulting in a high proportion of measures still to be completed in 2025 and 2026. However, it is concerned by the Court of Auditors' conclusion that only 50% of the disbursed funds had reached the final beneficiaries in 15 of the 22 Member States. The Commission is invited to take into account the Court of Auditors' recommendations to improve the functioning of any future performance-based instrument of the same type as the RRF, in particular in the context of a more targeted MFF.

Parliament considered that expenditure with an impact on social objectives (EUR 163 million) must be results-oriented and ensure measurable economic or social benefits. It stressed the need to accelerate investment in the development of rural, peripheral and outermost, isolated and remote areas and in affordable housing, social protection and the integration of vulnerable groups, and youth employment, where spending is lagging. It called for the Commission to carry out a thorough evaluation, within the framework of the RRF scoreboard, of the education and youth -related projects and reforms implemented by Member States under the RRF.

Parliament noted the high administrative burden and complexity brought by the RRF. It expressed its concern about the complexity of the application procedures for RRF funding, particularly for SMEs and non-governmental organisations. It called for urgent simplification of application and reporting requirements, particularly for smaller beneficiaries.

Members highlighted that the duration of the Commission’s assessment of payment requests by Member States differs considerably among the Member States and stressed the need for more transparency from the Commission.

Extension of projects

Members believe that implementation delays underscore the risk that measures for which RRF funding has been paid will not be completed by the 2026 payment deadline. They encourage the Commission to take into account the Court of Auditor’s recommendations related to this and to assess, in cooperation with the Member States, the measures most at risk of not being completed by 31 August 2026.

Noting with concern that the remaining implementation timeframe of the RRF is too short for the implementation of many innovative projects, Members called on the Commission to create future programmes that are flexible enough to provide appropriate responses to evolving circumstances, while ensuring a degree of predictability. They called on Member States to increase their efforts to address administrative bottlenecks and provide sufficient administrative capacity to accelerate the implementation of the RRF in view of the 2026 deadline.

Members called for an 18-month extension of mature RRF projects through an amendment to the RRF Regulation, stressing that the proposed extension of projects will be conducted by the Commission on the basis of objective, clear and fair benchmarks.

Transparency

Members called on the Commission to remain vigilant and act proactively in identifying any potential double funding situations, in particular with regard to the different implementation models of the RRF and other EU funding instruments. They reiterated their call for the lists of the main final beneficiaries of each Member State to be regularly updated and published on the RRF Scoreboard and to include information on the economic operators concerned, including contractors and subcontractors, and their beneficial owners. They stressed the importance of the Scoreboard in enhancing transparency and called on the Commission to increase the level of transparency and data visualisation in it.

Lessons for the future

Parliament stressed the importance of aligning any funding with the instrument's objectives and disbursing it based on progress towards them. Concerned that a significant funding gap will emerge when the RRF ceases to operate at the end of 2026, it stressed the need to use the lessons learned from the RRF to better mobilise public and private investment to close the funding gap in European objectives and transitions, which the Draghi report estimates at more than EUR 800 billion per year.

Members called on the Commission to conduct an independent evaluation and report on the impact of the RRF on private investment at aggregate EU level. They reiterated that further efforts are needed to improve the transparency and traceability of the use of EU funds and mitigate the risk of double funding. It is also essential to adopt differentiated strategies that recognise the cultural diversity of different regions and strengthen their economic and social cohesion. Lastly, Parliament's role in monitoring the RRF should be further strengthened.