Council gives go-ahead to national Recovery Plan of the Netherlands 

Economy and finance ministers welcomed the positive assessment of the national recovery and resilience plan of the Netherlands by the European Commission. The Council adopted its implementing decision on the approval of this plan on 4 October 2022. 

What is NEXT Generation EU?  

In order to address the economic crisis resulting from COVID-19 in a fair, equitable and environmentally conscious manner, the European Commission will support efforts at national level, in particular in the most affected countries through NEXT Generation EU. The recovery plan will raise funds by temporarily raising the own resources’ ceiling to 2% of the EU’s gross national income, allowing it to borrow 750 billion euro on the financial markets. 

Next Generation EU (NGEU) is a temporary recovery instrument to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is the centerpiece of NGEU with loans and grants available to support reforms and investments undertaken by EU countries.  

To access NGEU funds, each Member State is required to develop a National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), setting out a coherent package of reforms and investment for the period 2021-26. 

Positive approval of the Dutch RRP 

In October 2022, the National RRP of the Netherlands received a positive assesment by the European Commission.  

The Council adopted its implementing decision on the approval of this plan. The Netherlands will be able to use the NGEU fund up to a total allocation of 4.7 billion euro in grants. This financing will enable the Netherlands to foster its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and finance the green and digital transitions. 
 

The Netherlands’ plan and objectives  

The Dutch plan devotes 48% of its total allocation on measures that support climate objectives including investments that are expected to make a significant contribution to decarbonisation. This includes: 

• Investments and reforms to speed up the deployment of renewable energy sources, investments in sustainable mobility and nature restoration.  
• Measures contributing to the REPowerEU objectives to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition, as well as to the relevant 2022 country-specific recommendation on energy.  
• Investments in offshore wind and energy efficiency in housing, as well as a new Energy Law, which is expected to facilitate investments in the electricity grid and to allow consumers to sell self-produced renewable energy. 

The Netherlands’ plan devotes 26% of its total allocation on measures that support the digital transition. This includes:  

• Investments in quantum technology, artificial intelligence, digital education and digital government.  
• Investments in information management reforms to create an open and transparent public administration. 

FI Group has 20 years of experience and wants to accompany you on the new NextGenerationEU path. Our experts are at your disposal to analyse how your project fits into the NextGenerationEU European recovery fund and to take the next steps together with you.  

Yvette Poumpalova