it is a pleasure to be back with you in this House, for the last time in this legislature and for our 15th Recovery and Resilience Dialogue.
This is a good moment to take stock. We have come a long way over the last three years.
The European Parliament has played an important role in the Recovery and Resilience Facility since we jointly created this instrument in 2021.
Your scrutiny has not only made sure that the RRF makes good on its objectives.
Your close involvement has also contributed to improving its functioning. As a result, the RRF works better.
Thanks to your efforts, the level of inter-institutional cooperation in its implementation is unprecedented.
This is true when it comes to accessing information on equal terms with the Council, on our regular dialogues like today's, and on many technical meetings with the Director-Generals of RECOVER and ECFIN.
Over time, the Parliament's scrutiny has brought increased transparency on implementation.
This is crucial for the RRF's success. I am referring to the publication of the 100 largest final recipients in each Member State and also improvements made to the RRF Scoreboard.
While it is too early to fully assess the RRF's impact, we can already take stock of its implementation and start drawing lessons from the EU's first major performance-based instrument.
We did this recently with our mid-term evaluation, and I will now briefly outline its main findings.
Let me begin with that the RRF does work well. Its scale of financial support is unprecedented, at a crucial juncture in EU history. Rapid disbursements have demonstrated the EU's ability to support Member States at times of crisis.
It acts as an incentive for Member States to carry out long-awaited reforms in line with country-specific recommendations within the European Semester.
The RRF has also accelerated the implementation of common EU priorities thanks to its six-pillared structure and its climate and digital targets.
The mid-term evaluation also shows that the performance-based approach has proven its worth.
Disbursing funds based on measurable achievements is bringing tangible results on the ground, and the evaluation mentions many examples of this.
Finally, thanks to its broad scope, the RRF has been sufficiently flexible to allow for changing circumstances and challenges, such as inflation and supply constraints.
Member States could adjust their plans to add REPowerEU chapters to cater for unexpected events.
However, the evaluation also shows that there is room for improvement.
The administrative work related to implementation has been greater than expected.
The performance-based model created start-up and learning costs, including on audit and control.
Many stakeholders and Member States consider that the RRF should be implemented more flexibly. And many local and regional authorities, social partners and civil society organisations are keen to be more closely involved.
In all: the RRF has many good features to draw upon but also some areas to improve. This is not only relevant for the second half of its lifetime but also when we start to think about the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework.
One important point to consider is administrative burden and simplification. In this context, we have taken good note of the recommendations which this House included in its discharge report, as well as the recent Council conclusions.
The Commission is reflecting to see what can be done to address these issues. We will soon propose some specific improvements, based on the existing legal framework, and on the need to ensure transparency and accountability.
Honourable Members
I will now present an overview of the state of disbursements, and assessments of revised plans recently submitted.
Total disbursements to date now amount to approximately €232 billion for 42 payment requests.
They relate to 1,072 milestones and 211 targets that we have assessed as successfully fulfilled.
There are now 17 requests in the pipeline, amounting to more than €40 billion.
While the Commission received many payment requests over the last couple of months, some assessments have become prolonged. To avoid such delays, Member States must ensure the high quality of the substantiating evidence that they submit as part of a payment request.
We are also assessing targeted plan revisions that will help Member States to address implementation challenges of milestones and targets created by objective circumstances.
A set of targeted revisions for the Spanish plan, for example, was adopted earlier today. We hope to adopt targeted revisions for the Italian and Irish plans soon.
So: what can we expect for the second half of 2024?
As you know, this is the time of year when we work on the European Semester spring package.
While the RRPs are driving Member States' reform and investment agendas, it is the Semester's economic and social framework – which is its broader scope and multilateral surveillance – that guides and complements RRF implementation.
As I always stress, it is vital for Member States to keep up the work carrying out their Recovery and Resilience Plans.
This will require continued close cooperation between Commission services and Member State authorities.
We expect to process a further 25 payment requests during this year, totalling €80 billion in disbursements.
This would bring total 2024 disbursements above €100 billion. But we can only reach this target if all parties pool their efforts to achieve the reforms and investments set out in the RRPs.
Honourable Members
Our bi-monthly dialogues continue to serve an important purpose. It is always useful to take stock of where we stand with the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The European Parliament's contribution to the success of this unique instrument remains crucial, especially as we enter the second half of its lifetime and focus firmly on implementation.
We rely on your ongoing support and contributions. We have worked successfully with this House to ensure that the benefits of the RRF are properly understood and communicated.
And as I said earlier, your scrutiny has brought increased transparency on implementation and made sure that the RRF makes good on its objectives.
I would like to thank you once again for your commitment and support over our 15 dialogues together. Thank you.
