amending Council Implementing Decision (EU) (ST 10155/21; ST 10155/21 ADD 1) on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Luxembourg

2022/0427 (NLE)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION

amending Council Implementing Decision (EU) (ST 10155/21; ST 10155/21 ADD 1) on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Luxembourg

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and in particular Article 18(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)Following the submission of the national recovery and resilience plan ('RRP') by Luxembourg on 30 April 2021, the Commission has proposed its positive assessment to the Council. The Council has approved the positive assessment by means of the Council Implementing Decision of 13 July 2021.

(2)Pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/241, the maximum financial contribution for non-repayable financial support of each Member State should be updated by 30 June 2022 in accordance with the methodology provided therein. On 30 June 2022, the Commission presented the results of that update to the European Parliament and the Council.

(3)On 11 November 2022, Luxembourg submitted its updated RRP to the Commission, in accordance with Article 18(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/241, to take into account the updated maximum financial contribution. Pursuant to Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/241, the Commission has assessed the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the updated RRP, in accordance with the assessment guidelines set out in Annex V to that Regulation.

(4)The update submitted by Luxembourg affects the Digital Skills investment under Component 1A and milestones and targets with sequential numbers 1A-6 to 1A-8, (‘Skilling, Upskilling and Reskilling’).

(5)The Digital Skills investment, which concerns a set of e-learning courses on digital skills targeting employees placed on short time work schemes between January and March 2021, is removed from the updated RRP of Luxembourg. The description of the Digital Skills investment, target 1A-6 and milestones 1A-7 and 1A-8 should be removed from the Council Implementing Decision of 13 July 2021.

(6)The very limited modification put forward by Luxembourg does not affect the positive assessment of the RRP, with regard to its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the RRP.

(7)In particular, with regard to the assessment criterion of Article 19(3), point (b), in spite of the removal of the Digital Skills investment, the updated RRP continues to address all or a significant sub-set of challenges identified in the country specific recommendations addressed by the Council to Luxembourg in 2019 and 2020, including on labour market policies and on the digital transition. The updated RRP still contains digital measures, including on upskilling and reskilling. In particular, the FutureSkills programme provides soft, digital, and managerial skills to job seekers, with a dedicated target for job seekers aged 45 year and more. The “Skillsdësch” reform is aimed at designing vocational training programmes (“Skillsbridges”) helping workers and job seekers to enhance their employability during the green and digital transitions. Furthermore, the updated RRP also maintains a number of investments in digitalisation and innovation contributing to the digital transition in the areas of healthcare and public services, and by developing an ultra-secure communication infrastructure.

(8)Furthermore, with regard to the assessment criterion of Article 19(3), point (e), taking into account the reduced maximum financial contribution and the updated RRP, the measures that effectively contribute to the green transition amount to 68.8% of the updated RRP’s total allocation, compared with 60.9% in the initial RRP. These figures have been calculated in accordance with the methodology set out in Annex VI to Regulation (EU) 2021/241.