NextGenerationEU shows strong delivery record as implementation reaches finish line
Today, the European Commission presents the fifth annual report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). As the EU’s flagship recovery instrument under NextGenerationEU, the RRF has now disbursed €450 billion in grants and loans, nearly 80% of the total amount requested by Member States.
Created in 2021 as an immediate response to the COVID-19 crisis, the RRF has become a major driver of reforms and investments while strengthening the Union’s economic resilience. From boosting research and development in Ireland to supporting family businesses in Greece and modern health facilities in Cyprus, the RRF has a strong record of delivering concrete change. Today’s report provides fresh evidence of this.
Member States had until 31 August 2026 to complete the milestones and targets reflecting the reforms and investments set out in their recovery and resilience plans. The Commission is now assessing the final 32 payment requests, with the remaining disbursements, amounting to €123 billion (21% of the envelope), to be completed by the end of 2026.
Over the lifetime of the programme, Member States have worked to achieve almost 6,000 milestones and targets, delivering reforms and investments that support the green and digital transitions and benefit citizens and businesses on the ground. Of these, 4,082 milestones and targets have already been fulfilled, while 1,899 are currently under assessment.
Boosting Europe’s digital transformation
RRF-supported digital investments, amounting to €140 billion, are supporting digital transformation with a strong potential to raise productivity. It is estimated that every €1 invested in digital measures under the RRF can generate €1.5 in economic output within the EU by 2030. The measures are particularly concentrated in high-technology sectors, which are a key part of Europe’s competitiveness.
Examples include Austria’s expansion of high-capacity broadband network, support for microelectronics in Germany, as well as the digitalisation of the judicial systems in Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands and Portugal. The Facility has also supported electronic payments in Greece to reduce administrative burden for businesses and improve tax compliance, Italy’s ‘Single Customs Window’ to better coordinate customs procedures, and Estonia’s reform to develop 10 digitalised life-event services for citizens, for example military obligations, name change, and divorce.
Digital skills are also significantly supported by the RRF. For example, Latvia introduced training modules to increase the number of specialists with advanced digital skills, while Finland increased basic cybersecurity skills of the general population.
Supporting the green transition
The RRF is also making a concrete contribution to the Union’s 2030 climate targets, with €287 billion allocated to the green transition. Supported investments are estimated to deliver annual greenhouse gas emissions savings equivalent to 1.5% of EU emissions (using 2021 as the baseline). In addition, RRF-supported reforms could add savings equivalent to a further 1.4% of EU emissions annually.
RRF support has for example helped Czechia roll out low-emission heating systems and renewable energy technologies, including photovoltaic and solar thermal installations. These measures are expected to save at least 500,000 tons of CO2 equivalent each year. It has also helped Poland introduce regulatory changes for the uptake of renewable energy generation and commit to increase the capacity of wind farms and photovoltaic installations. This second measure alone is estimated to generate annual greenhouse gas emission savings corresponding to around 4% of the Polish emissions recorded in 2021.
Reforms that are reshaping economies
The RRF has also supported the implementation of major reforms across Member States, whose full impact will become clearer over time.
For example, Italy launched a wide-range reform of its justice system covering civil, criminal, insolvency and administrative justice. Early findings also show that reforms supporting the digitalisation of public administrations are helping to cut red tape and speed up procedures, including in Germany through electronic identification, and in Cyprus through fast value-added tax (VAT) processing.
Additionally, RRF-supported labour market reforms are showing encouraging signs in Greece, France, Spain and Portugal. For instance, in Spain, the labour market reform supported by the RRF is estimated to have helped reduce temporary employment and increased overall employment by 3% in 2023.
Background
This is the fifth annual report on the implementation of the RRF, published in line with the requirements of Article 31 of the RRF Regulation.
The cut-off date for data and information included in this report is 31 August 2026, except for the data regarding payment requests and disbursements, for which the cut-off date is 2 October 2026. Progress in the implementation of recovery and resilience plans can be followed on the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. Further information is also available online, including the list of the 100 largest RRF fund recipients, data on the emerging impact of the RRF and an interactive map of RRF financed projects.
