REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Review report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility
Date: 2022-07-29
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU aid, EU financial instrument, EU financing arrangements, coronavirus disease, economic recovery, economic reform, epidemic, investment, structural adjustment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.7.2022  COM(2022) 383 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Review report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility  
 
 
Review report on the implementation of the Recovery and 
Resilience Facility  

July 2022 

Contents 

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2 

I.  RRF-IMPLEMENTATION UNDERWAY: EMERGING STRONGER FROM A 

GLOBAL PANDEMIC ........................................................................................................... 3 

I.a.  An investment and reform momentum for the European economy ............................ 3 

I.b. 

Providing immediate financial support ....................................................................... 6 

II. PROGRESS SO FAR: CONTRIBUTION TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SIX 

PILLARS AND TO EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN ................................. 8 

II.a.  Six pillars for a future-proof recovery: Review of fulfilled milestones and targets ... 8 

II. b. 

 Contribution of the RRF to tackling gender inequalities ......................................... 23 

III.  WAY FORWARD: A FLEXIBLE INSTRUMENT TAILORED TO EMERGING 

CHALLENGES ...................................................................................................................... 28 

III.a.  Reinforcing national recovery and resilience plans to address new challenges ........ 28 

III.b.  Moving ahead: guidance to Member States on updating the plans ........................... 30 

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 30 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction 

Regulation (EU) 2021/241 established the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) on 19 
February 2021 to promote cohesion by mitigating the social and economic fallout of the 
COVID-19 pandemic and by better preparing the Union for future challenges, notably 
by supporting the green and digital transitions. Eighteen months later, the implementation 
of the Facility is well on track, progressing quickly according to the timeline of reforms and 
investments set by Member States. To date, EUR 100 billion in RRF funds have already been 
disbursed:  EUR  56.6  billion  in  pre-financing  and  EUR  43  billion  on  payments,  and  the 
implementation  of  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  is  producing  tangible  results  on  the 
ground, both for investments and reforms, across the six pillars covered by the Facility.  

Following the publication of the first annual report1 on the implementation of the Facility 
on 1 March 2022, and in line with Article 16 of the Regulation, this review report provides 
an update on the implementation of the Facility, with a quantitative assessment of the 
contribution of the recovery and resilience plans to the climate and digital targets, as well 
as to each of the six pillars. The report also describes how the recovery and resilience plans 
tackle the inequalities between women and men. It addresses the report on the implementation 
of the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Parliament2, includes information on 
the implementation of the recovery and resilience plans till 30 June 2022 and is based on data 
published in the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. Further information are also promoted 
through the NextGenEU campaign launched by the Commission in May 2022.3  

Article  16  of  the  RRF  Regulation  provides  that  the  review  report  should  also  include 
observations and guidance to the Member States before the update of their recovery and 
resilience  plans  related  to  the  2022  update  of  the  maximum  financial  contribution. 
However,  responding  to  the  geopolitical  and  economic  developments  triggered  by  Russia’s 
invasion of Ukraine, the Commission anticipated its observations and guidance, which were 
part  of  the  Commission’s  guidance  on  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  in  the  context  of 
REPowerEU4 published in May 2022. 

1 COM(2022)75 final 
2 Available at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0171_EN.html 
3 In line with Article 34(3) of the RRF Regulation, see https://europa.eu/next-generation-eu/index_en 
4 The Guidance note is available at  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/c_2022_3300_1_en_0.pdf  

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
RRF-IMPLEMENTATION UNDERWAY: EMERGING STRONGER FROM A 

I. 
GLOBAL PANDEMIC 

I.a.  An investment and reform momentum for the European economy  

It has been more than two years since the Recovery and Resilience Facility was unveiled 
as  Europe’s  answer  to  an  unprecedented  crisis.  The  European  economy  is  undergoing  a 
fundamental transformation in a disrupted global context clouded by large uncertainties. For 
that reason, the main aim of the RRF is to promote the Union’s economic, social and territorial 
cohesion by financing reforms and investments having long-lasting impact and providing all-
encompassing support to the green and digital transitions. In doing so, the performance-based 
logic of the Recovery and Resilience Facility aims to ensure an effective reform momentum in 
each  Member  State  until  2026.  Estimates5  show  that,  if  well  used,  funds  from 
NextGenerationEU are expected to boost the EU’s GDP by around 1.5%, while supporting the 
creation  of  new  jobs.  The  roll-out  out  of  the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  and 
NextGeneration  EU  together  with  the  trillions  of  euros  already  spent  by  governments  on 
national measures made the EU more resilient and better equipped to face the challenges posed 
by  the  pandemic  and  other  future  crises.  Recent  forecasts  acknowledge  the  robust  growth 
potential of the EU economy in spite of ongoing turbulences and fuel shortages in the global 
markets  caused  by  the  war  in  Ukraine.  The  growth  projections  are  however  surrounded  by 
exceptional uncertainty and subject to strong downside risks. Looking ahead, in the face of the 
recent surge of inflation and rise of interest rates, the need for RRF support is more acute than 
ever  and  the  RRF  can  provide  essential  support  to  Member  States  facing  challenging 
circumstances.  

The Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) of 25 Member States have been endorsed by 
the Commission and the Council. Reforms and investments included in the RRPs contribute 
to  effectively  addressing  all  or  a  significant  subset  of  challenges  identified  in  the  relevant 
country  specific  recommendations  addressed  to  the  Member  States  in  the  context  of  the 
European Semester (highlighted in Figure 1).  

5 See  Pfeiffer P., Varga J. and in  ’t Veld J. (2021), “Quantifying  Spillovers of NGEU investment”, European 
Economy Discussion Papers, No. 144 and Afman et al. (2021), “An overview of the economics of the Recovery 
and Resilience Facility”, Quarterly Report on the Euro Area (QREA), Vol. 20, No. 3 pp. 7-16. Both studies also 
highlight the sensitivity of the results to key assumptions. 
3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 1. Shares of CSRs covered by the 25 RRPs, by policy areas (as defined in CeSaR) 

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Source: European Commission 

The implementation of the Facility has gradually reached cruising speed, thanks to the 
continued commitment of Member States. Work is ongoing on the operational arrangements 
between many Member States and the Commission. The signature of these is a pre-requisite to 
the  submission  of  the  payment  request.  To  date,  13  operational  arrangements  have  been 
concluded,6    leading  to  the  submission  of  11  payment  requests7  and  the  disbursement  to  6 
Member States8. The continuation of the commitment demonstrated by Member States to fulfil 
their milestones and targets in a timely manner is indispensable to the Facility’s success in the 
long-term. The success of the RRF also depends on the close involvement of social partners, 
civil society organizations, local and regional authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders, who 
have  contributed  to  the  design  of  the  plans  and  are  now  playing  a  key  role  in  their 
implementation.  In addition, Member States could also rely on the European Commission’s 
Technical Support Instrument to implement their plans.  

Progress towards digital and climate targets set out in the Regulation 

The  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  puts  forward  a  rich  spectrum  of  reforms  and 
investments  that  will  support  environmental  and  digital  objectives  across  the  EU.  All 

6  Operational  arrangements  signed  with  Croatia,  Cyprus,  Estonia,  France,  Greece,  Italy,  Latvia,  Lithuania 
Portugal,  Romania,  Slovakia,  Slovenia,  and  Spain.  12  additional  operational  arrangements  are  expected  to  be 
signed by the end of 2022. 
7 Payment requests submitted by Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and two by Spain 
and Italy. 
8 Payments disbursed to Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
national Recovery and Resilience Plans strongly support the green transition. Each Recovery 
and  Resilience  Plan  needs  to  include  a  minimum  of  37%  of  the  allocated  funds  to  climate 
action. In addition to the 37% climate target, every individual measure must comply with the 
‘do  no  significant  harm  principle’  in  relation  to  the  wider  set  of  environmental  objectives. 
Whilst  all  plans  exceed  the  37%  benchmark  (40%  of  the  plans’  allocation  are  dedicated  to 
climate objectives), a number of Member States have used more than half of their allocation 
towards climate objectives.  In addition, the Facility will contribute to the digital transformation 
of  the  EU.  It  supports  reforms  and  investments  in  digital  infrastructure,  skills,  digital 
technologies and R&I to support Europe’s technological excellence as well as the digitalisation 
of business and public services. Member States were mandated by the Regulation to devote 
more than 20% of their allocation on digital transformation measures, but most Member States 
went beyond that - 26% of the plans’ total allocation are dedicated to digital objectives. For 
instance, Germany and Austria will invest about 53% and Luxembourg, Lithuania and Ireland 
32% respectively of their maximum total allocation towards digital goals. 

Based on the information gathered in the bi-annual reporting, milestones and targets are 
being implemented in a timely manner. At the end of April 2022, Member States reported 
on the implementation of their plans as part of the second bi-annual reporting round. The data 
submitted highlights the steady progress made in the implementation of the plans, as Member 
States are well on track in the implementation of their RRPs.  

There  is  balanced  progress  in  implementing  both  reforms  and  investments  across  the 
RRPs with fulfilled milestones and targets.   

Examples of reforms with fulfilled milestones  

  Croatia adopted an Act on the Alternative Transport Fuels 
  France implemented a reform related to the governance of public finances 
  Greece adopted and started implementing a law on waste management 
  Italy adopted legislation to reform the justice system 
  Portugal adopted its National Strategy to Combat Poverty 
  Spain adopted its National Digital Competences Plan 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Member States have also carried out a significant number of investments. Some examples 
are shown in the box below. 

Examples of investments with fulfilled targets  

  Croatia provided support to companies to boost energy efficiency and the use of renewable 

energy in the industry sector 

  France granted 400.000 bonuses for private housing renovation 
  Greece tendered the construction of 13 Regional Civil Protection Centres (PEKEPP) through 

public-private partnerships schemes  

  Italy extended the  incentives to promote energy efficiency in residential buildings  
  Portugal  signed  the  necessary  contracts  for  the  planned  purchase  of  600  000  individual 

computers for pupils and teachers 

  Spain approved a 2021-2025 Plan for the Digitalisation of SMEs to boost the digitisation of 

small businesses and promote technological innovation. 

Finally, it is worth stressing that in the first phase of RRPs’ implementation, Member 
States fulfilled a number of milestones to support the use of investments at national level, 
while ensuring adequate control systems. For instance, Italy introduced new administrative 
procedures  to  simplify  and  standardise  the  set  of  obligations  for  businesses  accessing  RRF 
funds, and developed a repository system for monitoring the implementation of the RRF across 
regions.  Similarly,  France  improved  the  control  and  audit  system  by  setting  out  roles  and 
responsibilities of the coordinating body and relevant ministries, introducing procedures for 
RRF data collection and storage and by defining the audit strategy ahead of payment requests.  

I.b.  Providing immediate financial support 

The steady implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plans has already led to the 
disbursement of around 20% of the allocated RRF funds. Over EUR 56.6 billion in pre-
financing has been paid out to 21 Member States, while EUR 43 billion EUR were paid upon 
fulfilment of milestones and targets. Since the first payment request submitted by Spain on 11 
November 2021, the Commission received 10 more payment requests9 and in 2022 more than 
30 payment requests are expected to be submitted. As of 30 June10, 6 countries received first 
payments (Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) and the recent disbursement to 
Croatia brought the total RRF amount disbursed by the Commission to the symbolic 100 billion 
landmark,  only  one  year  after  the  official  submission  of  the  first  plans.  The  swift  pace  of 
disbursements  so  far  shows  the  effectiveness  of  the  RRF  financial  instrument  and  the  high 
commitment of Member States to implement related reforms and investments.  

9 Spain for a second time on 30/04, France on 26/11/2021, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Croatia, Slovakia on 29/04 and 
Romania on 31/05. 
10 The first payment request of Slovakia and the second payment request of Spain were approved by the 
Commission on 21/07/2022. Both payments would bring the overall paid out sum to EUR billion 112,4.   

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
RRF – Communication and visibility  

Article 34 of the RRF Regulation sets out the communication requirements for Member States 
and  the  RRPs.  It  explains  that  Member  States  shall  acknowledge  the  origin  and  ensure  the 
visibility of the Union funding, including  by displaying the emblem of the Union and a funding 
statement that reads ‘funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU’, and that they shall 
provide effective and proportionate targeted information to  multiple audiences,  including the 
media  and  the  public.  These  requirements  are  further  laid  down  in  the  financing  agreement 
signed by the Commission with all Member States receiving support under the RRF and Member 
States have specified their communication strategy in the RRPs.  

Member States have taken a number of actions to ensure the visibility of RRF support.  This 
includes: launching national RRF websites; publishing the respective Recovery and Resilience 
Plans and implementing the communication strategies outlined in the RRPs. Member States (and 
final  beneficiaries)  also  display  appropriate  funding  statements  accompanied  by  the  Union 
emblem, where applicable. 

The Commission provides Member States with regular guidance and continues to support their 
efforts in raising the visibility of the RRF. In addition to launching the Recovery and Resilience 
Scoreboard, the Commission has put in place the Recovery and Resilience Facility website11), 
which  also  features  the  national  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  and  includes  links  to  the 
respective national websites. The Commission also regularly discusses RRF topics with Member 
States  in  the  context  of  the  INFORM  EU  network  (an  EU-wide  network  of  communication 
officers  responsible  for  communicating  EU  and  Member  State  projects  under  EU  funds, 
including the RRF). The Commission organised five dedicated INFORM EU clinics to provide 
advice to Member States’ experts and allow exchanges of best practices on specific issues related 
to RRF communication and visibility.  

The  Commission  also  organises  together  with  Member  States  joint  events  that  highlight  the 
European dimension of RRF-supported projects. Of particular note are Annual Events, which 
constitute  a  key  communication  moment  bringing  together  institutions,  stakeholders  (in 
particular  social  partners  and  civil  society)  and  beneficiaries  of  RRF  support  to  discuss  the 
progress and state of play of the RRP implementation.  

Four Annual Events already took place in 2022 (EE, LV, MT and PT), with the others to follow 
in the autumn. European Semester Officers, posted in the Commission representations, play a 
central  role  in  the  organisation  of  the  Annual  Events  and,  more  generally,  in  fostering 
cooperation on communication in Member States. 

In addition, the Commission regularly invites local media to briefing sessions in the context of 
processing of payment requests, in order to address all possible questions on the Commission’s 
assessment. 

Finally,  the  Commission  has  also  launched  the  corporate  communication  campaign 
NextGenEU, to raise awareness across Europe about the scope and objectives of the recovery 

11 https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
plan. Launched in spring 2021, the campaign will soon increase its focus on communicating the 
concrete benefits of NextGenerationEU-funded projects in each Member State.  

PROGRESS SO FAR: CONTRIBUTION TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SIX 

II. 
PILLARS AND TO EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN  

II.a. Six pillars for a future-proof recovery: Review of fulfilled milestones and targets 

Article 29 (3) of the Regulation calls on the Commission to report on the contribution of 
each Recovery and Resilience Plan to the Facility’s six pillars set out in Article 3 (a) to (f). 
The six pillars are:  

  green transition;  
  digital transformation;  
  smart,  sustainable  and 

jobs, 
productivity,  competitiveness,  research,  development  and  innovation,  and  a  well-
functioning internal market with strong small and medium enterprises (SMEs); 

including  economic  cohesion, 

inclusive  growth, 

  social and territorial cohesion;  
  health,  and  economic,  social  and  institutional  resilience  with  the  aim  of,  inter  alia, 

increasing crisis preparedness and crisis response capacity;  

  policies for the next generation, children and the youth, such as education and skills. 

The six policy pillars reflect priority policy areas of European relevance and the overall 
scope of the RRF. To be consistent with the multifaceted nature of the individual measures, 
where a measure is often linked to several pillars, the reporting is based on the assignment of 
each measure (or sub-measure) to two policy pillars (i.e. a primary and secondary pillar).12 The 
figure below provides an overview of the estimated expenditure per policy pillar based on 25 
plans adopted by the Council. Green transition, smart sustainable and inclusive growth, as well 
as social and territorial cohesion are on the top of the spending priorities (with a contribution 
rate between 40 to 50%) for the examined Member States. 29% of the measures’ expenditure 
contribute to the digital transformation, and 16% to policies related to health, economic, social 
and institutional resilience reflecting also the responses to the COVID pandemic. Last but not 
least,  over  12%  of  the  expenditure  contribute  to  policies  for  next  generation,  including 
education and skills.   

12 Measures are assigned to primary and secondary pillars based on their relevance. The predominant policy area 
of the measure (e.g. green, digital, etc.) determines its primary assignment. The secondary assignment is based on 
the second most relevant policy area of the measure. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 2. Share of RRPs estimated expenditure per policy pillar  

50,00%

48,00%

45,00%

28,00%

18,00%

11,00%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

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Green transition

Digital
transformation

Smart, sustainable
and inclusive
growth

Social and
territorial
cohesion

Health, and
economic, social
and institutional
resilience

Policies for the
next generation

Primary pillar

Secondary pillar

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. Note: Each measure contributes towards two policy areas of the six pillars (primary and secondary), therefore the 
total contribution to all pillars displayed on this chart amounts to 200% of the estimated cost of approved RRPs. The percentages calculated for the contribution 
to the green transition and digital transformation pillars are different from the percentages calculated for the contribution to the climate and digital objectives; 
the latter are calculated according to a different methodology (detailed in Annexes VI and VII of the RRF Regulation).  

More  than  a  quarter  of  the  total  expenditure  in  the  adopted  plans  is  estimated  to 
contribute to social expenditure, including on children and the youth (Figure 3).  Given 
the  importance  of  social  spending  in  the  aftermath  of  the  COVID  pandemic,  the  RRF 
Regulation empowered the Commission to adopt a delegated act establishing a methodology 
to report on social expenditure, including on children and the youth, under the Recovery and 
Resilience Facility (Art 29 (4) (b)).13 The methodology adopted by the Commission classifies 
all expenditure financed by the Facility relating to reforms and investments into  nine broad 
policy areas, which are then aggregated into four social categories: (1) employment and skills, 
2) education and childcare, 3) health and long-term care, and 4) social policies. A total of 135 
billion EUR allocation contributes to social spending, which represents about 30% of the total 
estimated expenditure. Around one third of this amount is dedicated to spending on education 
and childcare, another one third on health and long-term care, while the rest is divided between 
spending on employment and skills, and social policies.   

13 Delegated Regulation 2021/2105 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 3. Share of RRF social expenditure by main social categories 

Employment And Skills

Education And Childcare

Health And Long-Term Care

Social Policies

15%

20%

32%

33%

Note: This figure shows the breakdown of estimated social expenditures in all endorsed RRPs. Social categories are defined and applied based on the methodology 
adopted by the Commission in consultation with the European Parliament and the Member States in the Delegated Regulation 2021/2105. 

So  far,  payments  with  fulfilled  milestones  and  targets  related  to  measures  in  health, 
economic,  social  and  institutional  resilience,  and  smart  and  sustainable  and  inclusive 
growth are the largest in size (roughly EUR 10 billion each). Around 8 billion EUR has 
been  paid  out  to  the  fulfilment  of  milestones  and  targets  related  to  the  green  transition  and 
social  and  territorial  cohesion.  The  remaining  EUR  6  billion  of  estimated  expenditure  are 
divided between the digital transformation and policies for the next generation, children and 
the youth (Figure 4).      

Figure 4. Payment by pillar (in billion EUR) - prefinancing excluded 

Green transition

Digital transformation

3,81

Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

Social and territorial cohesion

Health, and economic, social and institutional resilience

Policies for the next generation

2,42

7,87

7,90

10,31

11,52

Note: This graph is based on a methodology developed by the Commission to monitor the progress of spending across pillars. According to this methodology, 
each payment is distributed across the six pillars based on the pillar categories assigned to the measures associated with the set of milestones and targets of the 
payment request. 

0

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14

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pillar 1: Green transition  

The RRF will help achieve the EU’s targets to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at 
least  55%  by  2030  and  to  reach  climate  neutrality  by  2050.  Along  with  contributing  to 
deliver  on  the  climate  ambition  and  on  the  REPowerEU  objectives  such  as  promoting 
sustainable  mobility,  increasing  energy  efficiency  and  a  higher  deployment  of  renewable 
energy sources, the measures supported by the RRF will also ensure progress towards other 
environmental objectives such as reducing air pollution, promoting the circular economy or 
restoring and protecting biodiversity, etc. A total of EUR 249 billion of Member States’ total 
allocation has been dedicated to measures contributing to the green transition pillar, which can 
be broken down in 11 policy areas (see figure 5).  

Figure 5. Breakdown of expenditure supporting the green transition per policy area 

Sustainable mobility

Energy efficiency

Renewable energy and networks

R&D&I in green activities (e.g. climate change mitigation,…

Climate change adaptation

Sustainable use and protection of water and marine…

Transition to a circular economy, waste prevention and…

The protection and restoration of biodiversity and…

Other climate change mitigation (e.g.. sustainable…

Pollution prevention and control (such as air, water,…

Green skills and jobs

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard.  
The percentage relates to the overall share tagged under this policy pillar of the 25 plans adopted as of 30 June 2022 

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Among those that have been fulfilled so far, 89 milestones and targets contribute to pillar 
1.14 Few examples are presented below. 

Examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets 

  France  has put  in  place investments  to  support energy-efficiency renovation and major 

rehabilitation of private and social housing. 

  Italy introduced new legislation to promote biomethane production and consumption. 

14 A milestone and target can contribute to more than one pillar.  

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
  Spain  introduced  a  reform  to  set  up  an  enabling  framework  for  the  integration  of 

renewables into the energy system: networks, storage and infrastructure. 

  Portugal approved a reform supporting the implementation of the Innovation Agenda for 
Agriculture  2030,  targeting  R&I  to  the  needs  of  the  agricultural  sector,  food  and  agro-
industry,  and  has  opened  a  first  call  for  tender  on  investments  to  support  the 
decarbonisation of industry. 

  Greece passed a reform to set up a framework for the installation and operation of charging 

infrastructure for electric vehicles. 

  Croatia  adopted  programmes  for  energy  efficiency  of  buildings  and  to  reduce  energy 
poverty, introduced an Energy Efficiency Programme for decarbonising the energy sector 
and adopted the Alternative Fuels for Transport Act. 

The RRF Regulation requires that at least 37% of the total allocation in each RRP shall 
support climate objectives. The reforms and investments proposed by Member States have 
exceeded the 37% target (see also figure 6 below). Total estimated climate expenditure in the 
adopted  plans  amounts  to  EUR  198  billion,  about  40%  of  the  total  plans’  allocation  as 
calculated according to the climate tagging methodology.15  

Figure 6. Contribution to climate objectives as share of RRP allocation 

58,7%

58,9%

59,5%

49,6%

60,9%

53,8%

50,3%

46,0%

41,6%

42,4%

40,7%

41,6%

39,7%

37,5%

40,3%41,8%

37,8%

37,5%

37,6%

42,7%

44,5%

43,1%

42,4%

40,9%

37,9%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES

FI

FR HR IE

IT

LT LU LV MT PL PT RO SE

SI

SK

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard.  

15 The RRPs had to specify and justify to what extent each measure contributes fully (100%), partly (40%) or has 
no impact (0%) to climate objectives, using Annex VI to the RRF Regulation. Combining the coefficients with 
the cost estimates of each measure allows calculating to what degree the plans contribute to the climate target. 
12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Pillar 2: Digital transformation  

The  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  provides  a  significant  contribution  to  the  digital 
transformation in the Union. Plans include a range of measures, including deployment of 
next generation digital infrastructures and advanced technologies, digital skills development 
for the population and the workforce, and support to the digitalisation of enterprises as well as 
of public services. A total of EUR 141 billion will contribute to the digital transformation pillar, 
and distributed across digital policy areas as shown in figure 7. 

Figure 7. Breakdown of expenditure supporting the digital transformation per policy 
area  

E-government, digital public services (including
digitalisation of transport) and local digital ecosystems

Human capital in digitalisation

Digitalisation of businesses

Connectivity

Digital capacities and deployment of advanced
technologies

Digital-related measures in research, development and
innovation

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard.  
The percentage relates to the overall share tagged under this policy pillar of the 25 plans adopted as of 30 June 2022.  

0%

5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To date, 44 milestones and targets contributing to the digital pillar have been fulfilled. A 
few  examples  drawing  from  payment  requests  which  have  been  positively  assessed  are 
presented below. 

Examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets  

  Italy awarded contracts for the development of a Digital Tourism Portal and launched 
calls  for identification of national  projects  for the  IPCEIs on microelectronics and 
cloud. 

  Spain adopted its Digitalisation of SMEs Plan 2021-2025 and a Digital Competences 

Plan. 

  Portugal signed contracts for the purchase of 600 000 new laptops to lend to teachers 
and pupils and selected 17 Digital Innovation Hubs which will support companies in 
their digitalisation efforts. 

  France adopted six ‘acceleration strategies’ for innovation in key digital technologies 
(quantum  technologies,  cybersecurity,  Digital  education,  cultural  and  creative 
industries, 5G, cloud). 

  Greece launched a call for commercial banks under their RRF loan facility. At least 

20% of the funding will support digital objectives.  

  Croatia  established  a  Unit  for  Implementation  and  Management  of  Digital 
Transformation  Projects  in  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  which  will  ensure  the 
achievement of at least 30 digitalised public services, operational Smart Agriculture 
platform and publicly accessible traceability information system. 

The  RRF  Regulation  requires  that  at  least  20%  of  the  total  allocation  in  each  RRP 
supports digital objectives. The reforms and investments proposed by Member States have 
exceeded  the  20%  digital  target;  total  digital  estimated  expenditure  in  the  adopted  plans 
amounts to EUR 127 billion, 26% of the total allocation of the plans as calculated according to 
the digital tagging methodology.16 

16 The RRPs had to specify and justify to what extent each measure contributes fully (100%), partly (40%) or has 
no impact (0%) to digital objectives, using Annex VII of the RRF Regulation. Combining the coefficients with 
the cost estimates of each measure allows calculating to what degree the plans contribute to the digital target. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
Figure 8. Contribution to digital objectives as share of RRP allocation 

52,8%

52,6%

26,0%

26,6%

22,1%

23,4%

28,2%

23,3%

24,6%

21,5%

31,6%

31,5% 31,5%

27,5%

21,3%

20,4%

25,1%

25,5%

22,1%

21,5%

20,5%

21,0%

21,3%

20,5%

21,0%

60,0%

50,0%

40,0%

30,0%

20,0%

10,0%

0,0%

AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES

FI

FR HR IE

IT LT LU LV MT PL PT RO SI

SK SE

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. 

Pillar  3:  Smart,  sustainable  and  inclusive  growth,  including  economic  cohesion,  jobs, 
productivity, competitiveness, research, development and innovation, and a well-functioning 
internal market with strong SMEs 

In  their  plans,  Member  States  have  included  many  reforms  and  investments  which 
contribute  to  promoting  smart,  sustainable  and  inclusive  growth  and  to  making  their 
economies  as  well  as  the  Union’s  economy  as  a  whole  more  resilient.  In  particular, 
considering  the  importance  of  small,  medium-sized  and  large  enterprises  (SMEs)  for  our 
economies and for the recovery process, Member States have put forward a significant number 
of measures directly and indirectly supporting SMEs17. In total,  the 25 plans adopted by the 
Council  as  of  30  June,  contribute  to  pillar  3  with  around  235  billion    promoting  smart, 
sustainable and inclusive growth  across a range of different policy areas (see figure 9).  

17 More information and concrete examples of measures providing support to SMEs can be found in the “SME 
support” 
Scoreboard: 
https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/recovery-and-resilience-scoreboard/assets/thematic_analysis/3_SME.pdf  
15 

Resilience 

published 

Recovery 

thematic 

analysis 

and 

the 

on 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 9. Breakdown of expenditure supporting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth 
per policy area  

Building renovation and construction

Support to SMEs

Research, Development and Innovation

Competitiveness

Business environment/ Entrepreneurship

Industrialisation and reindustrialisation

Business infrastructure

Cultural sector

Regulatory changes for smart, sustainable and inclusive…

Support to large enterprises

Transnational cooperation

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard.  
The percentage relates to the overall share tagged under this policy pillar of the 25 plans adopted as of 30 June 2022 

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

In  particular,  out  of    228  fulfilled  milestones  and  targets,  115  contribute  to  pillar  3, 
illustrating  that  important  progress  is  being  made  towards  restoring  and  promoting 
sustainable  growth.  Few  examples  of  measures  with  fulfilled  milestones  and  targets  are 
reported in the box below. 

Moreover,  Member  States  are  on  track  in  their  implementation  of  reforms  and 
investments to support SMEs in their recovery and to improve their access to finance, 
including through RRF funds. For instance, Croatia is implementing a reform of the business 
and  regulatory  environment  to  strengthen  the  competitiveness  of  the  economy  which  pays 
particular  attention  to  the  economic  effects  of  regulation  on  SMEs.  Greece  will  reform  its 
business  environment  by  reducing  the  administrative  and  regulatory  burden  on  businesses, 
including SMEs. More specifically, the reform will reduce the complexity, cost and length of 
various  processes  such  as  getting  credit,  obtaining  an  electricity  connection,  registering 
property, and getting a construction permit. A reform of the public procurement framework is 
also envisaged under the Greek plan, inter alia, to improve SMEs’ access to public contracts. 
Italy’s  public  procurement  reform  will  simplify  public  procurement  rules  and  processes, 
increase legal certainty for businesses, accelerate the award of public contracts and reduce late 
payments by public administrations, which will also benefit SMEs. 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets 

  Portugal  has  issued  a  reform  to  create  the  necessary  legislative  and  regulatory 
conditions for the gradual introduction of renewable hydrogen, framed by a National 
Hydrogen Strategy;  and put  in  place investments to  modernise business  reception 
areas for interventions to improve environmental sustainability and digitalisation. 
  France supported investments for research in advanced technologies for the green 
transition  (projects  falling  under  seven  ‘acceleration  strategies’:  (i)  decarbonised 
hydrogen, (ii) decarbonisation of industry, (iii) sustainable agricultural systems, (iv) 
recycling  and  reincorporation  of  recycled  materials,  (v)  sustainable  cities  and 
innovative  buildings,  (vi)  digitalisation  and  decarbonisation  of  mobility,  and  (vii) 
biosourced  products  and  industrial  biotechnologies  –  sustainable  fuels  )  to  foster 
innovation for the green transition of the economy. 

  Greece  designed  a  reform  through  the  drafting  of  legislation  to  implement  an 
incentives  regime  to  promote  productivity  and  extroversion  of  enterprises 
(increasing the size of enterprises). 

  Italy  has  set  up  investments  to  support  firms  operating  in  the  tourism  sector,  in 
particular through funds to increase the competitiveness of tourism enterprises. In 
addition,  4000  SMEs  have  already  benefitted  from  targeted  support  and  funding 
through the refinancing and remodelling of Fund 394/81 managed by SIMEST. 
  Croatia  adopted an Act on the institutional  framework for EU funds  which shall 
improve  their  absorption  capacities  and  facilitate  faster  implementation  of 
investment projects.  

  Spain  introduced  two  important  reforms,  to  regulate  the  audio-visual  regulatory 
framework, which will enable Spain to become the audio-visual hub of Europe; and 
to reorganise the public research organisations and rationalisation of their structure 
and operation. 

Pillar 4: Social and territorial cohesion   

Member  States  have  included  a  significant  number  of  measures  to  support  social  and 
territorial cohesion, especially contributing to the implementation of the European Pillar 
of Social Rights. More precisely, the 25 RRPs adopted by the Council so far, will support pillar 
4 with around EUR 222 billion. The breakdown of expenditure within the pillar are shown in 
figure 10.  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 10. Breakdown of expenditure supporting social and territorial cohesion per 
policy area  

Territorial infrastructure and services

*Adult learning, including continuous vocational education
and training; recognition and validation of skills

*Social housing and other social infrastructure

Development of rural and remote areas (e.g. islands)

*Social protection, including social services and integration
of vulnerable groups

*Modernisation of labour market institutions, including
employment services and forecasting of skills and labour
inspectorates; employment protection and organisation;…

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard.  
The  percentage  relates  to  the  overall  share  tagged  under  this  policy  pillar  of  the  25  plans  adopted  as  of  30  June  2022.  The  methodology  for  reporting  social 
expenditure, as defined in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2105, is fully aligned and integrated into the methodology for reporting expenditure under the six 
pillars. Under this pillar, the policy areas marked with an asterisk (*) are used for reporting social expenditure, including children and youth, under the Facility.  

0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Looking at the payment requests positively assessed as of 30 June 2022, 82 of the fulfilled 
milestones and targets support pillar 4. It is worth stressing that 28 of the fulfilled milestones 
and  targets  support  employment  in  the  broad  sense,18  showing  a  strong  commitment  by 
Member  States  to  high  quality  employment  creation  from  the  initial  stages  of  the  RRPs’ 
implementation. 

18 These milestones are linked to measures contributing to the “Employment” social category, as defined by the 
Delegated Regulation 2021/2105. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets 

  France deployed investments to support territorial infrastructure and services such 
as the renovation of local railway lines and approved a reform to transfer powers to 
local  territories.  Also,  France  adopted  funding  agreements  for  projects  such  as 
building reserved lanes for public transport and carpooling. 

  Italy  has  put  in  place  investments  to  support  vulnerable  people  and  prevent 
institutionalisation through support to vulnerable families; deinstitutionalisation of 
elderly  care,  reinforcement  of  home  social  services  to  prevent  hospitalization  and 
improvement  of  social  services  to  prevent  burnout  among  social  workers  and 
introduced a new reform to modernise active labour market policies and improve the 
vocational training system. 

  Portugal  issued  a  new  reform  to  set  up  a  National  housing  plan  accompanied  by 
relevant investments to improve housing conditions in the housing stock at regional 
level. 

  Greece  has  set  up  an  energy  poverty  action  plan,  which  includes  targeted  policy 
measures to improve energy efficiency of residential buildings among economically 
vulnerable households. 

  Croatia has adopted the National Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2021-
2027 with the aim to improve the daily lives of people at risk of poverty and those 
living in severe material deprivation.  This Plan creates important preconditions for 
a  legislative  reform  on  the  National  Plan  for  the  Development  of  Social  Services 
contributing  to  the  deinstitutionalisation  and  development  of  home  services  and 
community-based services for long-term care. Croatia has also improved its labour 
legislation  by  amending  the  Minimum  Wage  Act,  ruling  out  the  possibility  of 
renouncing to the minimum wage and strengthening controls and redefining penalties 
to prevent non-payment, among others. 

Pillar 5: Health, and economic, social and institutional resilience, with the aim of, inter alia, 
increasing crisis preparedness and crisis response capacity  

Measures  to  promote  health,  and  economic,  social  and  institutional  resilience  feature 
prominently in the recovery and resilience plans, aiming to strengthen health systems and 
the  resilience  and  preparedness  of  institutions.  Reforms  and  investments  contribute  to 
achieving the goals of pillar 5 with about EUR 87  billion (see breakdown in figure 10), and 98 
milestones and targets  have  already  been fulfilled, serving  as  a clear  example that Member 
States have dedicated significant efforts to increase their resilience and make progress towards 
the open strategic autonomy of the Union.  

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 11. Breakdown of expenditure supporting Health, and economic, social and 
institutional resilience 

Effectiveness of public administration and national…

*Healthcare

*Long-term care

Crisis preparedness

Effectiveness of judicial systems

Strategic autonomy

Crisis reaction capacity

Tax measures, including aggressive tax planning

Business and public service continuity (in crisis)

Fiscal policy and fiscal governance

Fraud prevention

Anti-money laundering supervision

Financial sector reforms

Rule of Law reforms

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. The percentage relates to the overall share tagged under this policy pillar of the 25 plans adopted as of 30 June 
2022. The methodology for reporting social expenditure, as defined in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2105, is fully aligned and integrated into the 
methodology for reporting expenditure under the six pillars. Under this pillar, the policy areas marked with an asterisk (*) are used for the social expenditure 
methodology.  

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Few examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets are presented below.  

Examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets  

  France  improved  the  national  health  system  with  a  reform  which  includes  the 
simplification  of  the  governance  of  hospitals  giving  them  more  flexibility  in  their 
organisation. 

  Greece  adopted  a  roadmap  for  a  comprehensive  reform  for  the  codification  and 
simplification  of  tax  legislation  and  new  investments  for  the  construction  of  regional 
Civil Protection Centres.  

  Italy  reformed  the  civil  and  criminal  justice  and  provided  investments  for  the  digital 

update of the digital equipment of hospitals. 

  Portugal supported the digitalisation of public administration towards digital, simple, 
inclusive  and  secure  public  services  for  citizens  and  businesses  and  adopted  a  new 
mental  health decree law which sets  out  the principles  for the organisation of mental 
health care. 

  Spain modernised the institutional architecture of economic governance. 
  Croatia adopted the Budget Act to improve the budgetary processes and strengthen the 
fiscal framework. The new Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest and the Anti-
corruption strategy for 2021-2030 have been adopted to strengthen the anti-corruption 
framework.  Furthermore,  National  Health  Development  Plan  2021-2027 was  adopted 
and sets out sets out specific objectives, measures, and activities aiming to improve the 
health system and health outcomes.  

Strengthening institutions and enhancing crisis preparedness and response capacity also 
entails promoting the open strategic autonomy of the Union. A number of Member States 
will invest in strengthening their cybersecurity frameworks in this regard. Spain will 
strengthen the cybersecurity capacity of citizens, SMEs and professionals and aims to 
improve the sector’s overall ecosystem, while Romania will ensure the cybersecurity of 
public and private entities owning critical value infrastructure. Slovakia will construct and 
upgrade RES electricity sources and will increase the flexibility of electricity systems for 
greater RES integration, which will contribute to increasing its energy independence. Some 
Member States will also invest in industrial projects considered as of strategic importance, for 
instance, the aeronautics and space sectors in the case of France. 

Pillar 6: Policies for the next generation  

Measures under the policies for the next generation, children and youth,  focus primarily 
on  education,  training,  early  childhood  education  and  care,  as  well  as,  measures  to 
support youth employment. Around three quarters of the total expenditure related to pillar 
six EUR 56 billion contribute to general, vocational, and higher education. The remaining 25% 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
is  almost  equally  split  between  early  childhood  education  and  care,  and  youth  employment 
support. 

Figure 12. Breakdown of expenditure supporting policies for next generation per policy 
area  

*General, vocational, and higher education:
Accessibility, affordability, quality and inclusiveness,
including digitisation and infrastructure

*Early childhood education and care: Accessibility,
affordability, quality and inclusiveness, including
digitisation and infrastructure

*Youth employment support and youth job creation,
including hiring and job transition incentives and
support for self-employment

0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. The percentage relates to the overall share tagged under this policy pillar of the 25 plans adopted as of 30 June 2022. 
The methodology for reporting social expenditure, as defined in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2105, is fully aligned and integrated into the methodology for 
reporting expenditure under the six pillars. Under this pillar, the policy areas marked with an asterisk (*) are used for the social expenditure methodology. 

Out  of  the  milestones  and  targets  related  to  pillar  6,  18  have  been  fulfilled.  These 
milestones  and  targets  are  associated  with  measures  on  active  labour  market  policies, 
supporting  digital  transformation  in  education,  support  for  teaching,  hiring  subsidies  for 
apprenticeships, as well as, support for the higher education of youth.  

Examples of measures with fulfilled milestones and targets 

  Spain introduced an Action Plan to tackle youth unemployment, in the framework of 

a broader reform to modernise active labour market policies. 

  Portugal supported digital transition in education through new investments. 
  France introduced new subsidies for apprenticeships, boost higher education for post-
baccalaureate  students  and  support  teaching,  research,  development  and  innovation 
ecosystems. 

  Italy  has  put  in  place  new  investments  for  vulnerable  people  to  prevent 

institutionalization. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
II. b.  Contribution of the RRF to tackling gender inequalities    

Impact of Covid-19 crisis on gender equality 

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed and exacerbated gender inequality challenges in the 
EU. The impact of parenthood on employment and hours worked was exacerbated during the 
crisis, with the employment rate of women with small children in the EU being 11.8 pps lower 
than of women without children in 2020.19 Unpaid care responsibilities keep around 7.7 million 
women in the EU away from participating in the labour market, compared to only 450 000 
men.20 Behind these developments are long-standing differences in representation of women 
and men in sectors and occupations affected by the crisis, such as women’s over-representation 
in  sectors  badly  hit  by  lockdowns,  gender  differences  in  the  use  of  telework,  and  the 
implications of sudden increases in unpaid care work.  

The physical and psycho-social impact of the pandemic has  also  increased inequalities 
and  impacted  women,  children  and  disadvantaged  groups21  in  particular.  Important 
factors to be noted are the intensified domestic violence and the higher mental health impact 
of the pandemic on women and disadvantaged groups.22  

Gender equality considerations under the European Semester 

Every  year,  under  the  European  Semester  the  Commission  proposes  to  the  Council  a 
number  of  country  specific  recommendations  (CSRs)  to  enhance  coordination  among 
Member  States  on  economic,  fiscal,  employment  and  social  policy.  This  is  part  of  the 
European  Union's  economic  governance  framework.  Following  the  proclamation  of  the 
European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights,  the  European  Semester  also  provides  a  framework  for 
coordinating and monitoring Member States’ efforts in delivering on the principles and rights 
set  out  by  the  Pillar  on  equal  opportunities  and  access  to  the  labour  market,  fair  working 
conditions,  and  social  protection  and  inclusion.  Principle  2  specifically  addresses  gender 
equality, and principle 3 equal opportunities. 

A significant subset of challenges identified in the 2019 country-specific recommendations 
related  to  gender  equality  are  addressed  by  Member  States  in  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience Plans that have been endorsed so far. In 2019, CSRs relevant for gender equality 
were issued to nine countries (Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, 
Italy,  Poland,  and  Slovakia).  They  covered  the  need  to  increase  female  labour  market 
participation and to provide early childhood education and care as well as long-term care as a 

Report 

Employment 

19Joint 
finance/2022_european_semester_proposal_for_a_joint_employment_report_0.pdf. 
20 EIGE, Gender inequalities in care and consequences for the labour market, 2021.  
21 Such as people with disabilities, older people and people with a minority racial or ethnic background 
22 EIGE, see https://eige.europa.eu/publications/gender-equality-index-2021-health. 

2022, 

see 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/economy-

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
prerequisite for increasing such participation, the need to reduce fiscal disincentives to work 
more hours and the need to reduce the gender pay gap.  

Against  the  backdrop  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  the  CSRs  issued  in  2019  remained 
valid  in  2020  and  were  complemented  by  recommendations  addressing  the  additional 
challenges  posed  by  the  crisis.  As 
the  country-specific 
the 
recommendations significantly changed in the 2020 European Semester, no CSR with explicit 
references to gender equality was issued, but 22 Member States received CSRs that refer to 
disadvantaged  groups  in  general.  Recitals  of  many  CSRs  also  addressed  equality 
considerations, emphasising their importance in a variety of policy areas. While no non-fiscal 
CSRs  were  proposed  in  2021,  CSRs  relevant  for  gender  equality  were  proposed  for  three 
countries (Austria, Germany, Poland) in 2022, focussing on female labour market participation 
and the provision of childcare. 

thematic  scope  of 

RRF and gender equality 

Equality considerations feature prominently in the RRF, although they do not constitute a 
formal  criterion  for  the  Commission’s  assessment  of  national  plans.  The  RRF  Regulation 
requires Member States to explain how their respective plans contribute to gender equality and 
equal opportunities for all, in line with the principles 2 and 3 of the European Pillar of Social 
Rights  and  with  Sustainable  Development  Goal  (SDG)  5  (achieve  gender  equality  and 
empower all women and girls) and, where relevant, with the national gender equality strategy.23 
The Regulation also requires Member States to describe the coherence and complementarity of 
their measures with other policies as well as with funding from other EU sources, including 
from the European Social Fund+ (ESF+). 

The  general  objectives  of  the  Regulation  specify  that  the  Facility  shall  pay  special 
attention to women in mitigating the  impact of the crisis (see in particular Article 4 and 
Article 18(4)(o)). In addition, the scope of the Facility includes pillar 4 (see Article 3(d)), which 
focuses  on  social  and  territorial  cohesion,  where  the  notion  of  ‘social’  includes  improving 
gender equality and equal opportunities. Equality considerations are also addressed through the 
aim to reduce social vulnerabilities, which is part of one of the assessment criteria of the plans.  

Finally, Article 17(3) of the Regulation requires that the plans address all or a significant 
subset  of  the  challenges  identified  in  the  relevant  CSRs,  including  those  addressed  to 
Member States in 2019 and 2020 which were directly or indirectly linked to the objective 
of  improving  gender  equality.  During  the  preparation  of  the  plans,  the  Commission 
consistently called on Member States to reflect equality considerations in their national plans. 
In line with the dual approach of the Gender Equality Strategy,24 the Commission encouraged 

23 Article 18(4)(o) of Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 
2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 
24 The Strategy pursues a dual approach of gender mainstreaming combined with targeted actions. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Member  States  to  include  targeted  measures  to  promote  equality  as  well  as  to  mainstream 
equality considerations throughout the plans.   

Reporting on gender equality in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plans   

The Commission has promoted the development of reporting tools at EU and Member 
State level to monitor the implementation of the RRF and ensure that it contributes to making 
the EU and the recovery more inclusive, including by ensuring that various reported data are 
disaggregated by gender. To this end, the Commission adopted two delegated acts a) on the 
recovery  and  resilience  scoreboard  and  common  indicators  and  b)  the  ex-post  reporting  on 
social expenditure. They both entered into force on 2 December 2021.   

These delegated acts contain several provisions to track the gender impact of the RRF: 

  Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/210625 establishes 14 common indicators against which 
Member State report on the progress towards the objectives of the Facility and four of 
these common indicators require disaggregation of data by gender.  
In  order  to  track  the  RRF  contribution  to  gender  equality,  the  Commission,  in 
consultation with Member States, assigned in its assessment tools a flag to measures with 
a focus on gender equality, in line with the methodology set out in Delegated Regulation 
(EU) 2021/2105.26  

 

Importantly, due to methodological constraints, the ex-ante nature of the assessment and the 
performance-based  nature  of  the  RRF,  the  real  impact  and  expenditure  on  gender  equality 
cannot be directly derived from the plans themselves. 

Measures having a focus on gender equality in national plans  

Based  on  the  attribution  by  the  Commission  of  gender  equality flags  to  the  respective 
measures of the plans, in consultation with Member States, 129 measures in the 25 plans 

25  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2106  setting  out  the  common  indicators  and  the  detailed  elements  of  the 
recovery and resilience scoreboard. 
26 Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2105 of 28 September 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  by  defining  a 
methodology for reporting social expenditure. It should be noted that the Commission applied this methodology 
not only to measures of a social nature, but also to all other measures included in adopted RRPs having a focus 
on gender equality, in order to better capture such throughout the plans. This focus did not have to be the main 
focus  of  the  concerned  measures.  This  implies  that  measures  not  flagged  may  also  have  an  impact  on  gender 
equality.  In  addition,  given  the  methodological  constraints,  the  ex-ante  nature  of  the  assessment  and  the 
performance-based  nature  of  the  RRF,  the  real  impact  and  expenditure  on  gender  equality  cannot  be  directly 
derived from the flags. 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
adopted as of 30 June 2022 are considered to have a focus on gender equality. See the 
breakdown per Member State in figure 13.27  

Figure 13. Share (in %) of measures having a focus on gender equality in adopted RRPs  

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%

AT BE BG HR CY CZ DK EE FI

FR DE EL

IE

IT LV LT LU MT PL PT RO SK SI

SE ES

Source: Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard 

While specific measures mostly contribute to pillars 4 (Social and territorial cohesion), 5 
(Health,  and  economic,  social  and  institutional  resilience),  and  6  (Policies  for  the  next 
generation) of the RRF, gender equality is also supported through measures contributing 
to pillars 1 (Green transition), 2 (Digital transformation) and 3 (Smart, sustainable and 
inclusive growth).  

For instance, some measures supporting the green transition under pillar 1 contribute to 
gender equality objectives (e.g. Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia and Spain), by 
promoting training in green skills among women or creating and renovating childcare facilities 
with higher energy efficiency.  

In measures supporting the digital transition under pillar 2, several Member States (e.g. 
Cyprus,  Estonia,  Finland,  Latvia,  Portugal,  Spain,  and  Sweden)  have  included  actions  to 
improve girls’ and women’s digital skills as well as equal representation in STEM and ICT 
(e.g. Portugal, Italy).  

27 Figures are illustrative, meant to be used for qualitative analysis, and do not constitute a comparative assessment 
of Member States’ RRPs. The number and structure of the measures in each national plan vary greatly, as well as 
the approach to reflect commitments to gender equality. More detailed analysis can be found in the Staff Working 
Documents adopted by the European Commission for each endorsed plan. 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Under  pillar  3  on  smart,  sustainable  and  inclusive  growth,  some  Member  States 
mainstreamed  gender  equality  considerations  by  including  measures  to  improve  access  to 
finance for women entrepreneurs and to support start-ups owned by women. Similarly, there 
are measures to help women improve their entrepreneurial skills. Several Member States also 
introduced specific gender-based reporting obligations or targets (e.g. Cyprus, France, Italy, 
Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain). 

Measures  under  pillar  4  include  reforms  to  reduce  the  pension  gender  gap  (e.g.  Austria), 
improve work-life balance and working conditions (e.g. Croatia and Slovenia), and to reinforce 
gender mainstreaming in active labour market policies (e.g. Spain), as well as investments to 
incentivise participation of women in the labour market (e.g. Italy), and to improve women’s 
financial literacy (e.g. Cyprus).  

Many measures to strengthen the health and long-term care systems under pillar 5 aim 
to improve the quality and delivery of formal and informal care at both national and regional 
or local level, reducing care responsibilities that are often taken up by women in the households 
(e.g. Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden). In addition, 
some  measures  will  specifically  contribute  to  supporting  socially  disadvantaged  pregnant 
women and to improving the working conditions for professions predominantly occupied by 
women, such as nursing (e.g. Austria and Sweden).   

Finally, measures under pillar 6 include reforms and investments to increase access to early 
childhood  education  and  care  (e.g.  Austria,  Belgium,  Cyprus,  Czech  Republic,  Germany, 
Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Spain), which constitutes an important aid and condition 
for supporting women’s participation in the labour market. 

To  date,  13  measures  with  a  focus  on  gender  equality  include  fulfilled  milestones  and 
targets, see few examples below. 

Examples of measures with a focus on gender equality with fulfilled milestones and 
targets 

  Italy  has  created  a  fund  to  support  women’s  entrepreneurship  and  envisaged 
investment  to  prevent  potential  vulnerabilities  in  families,  including  by  supporting 
parents of children aged 0-17. 

  Greece  established  a  new  framework  to  improve  work-life  balance  and  close  the 

gender employment gap. 

  Portugal  provided  new  digital  equipment  in  schools  to  promote  the  equal 
development  of  digital  skills  for  girls  and  boys  and  support  equal  participation  in 
STEM. 

  Spain  introduced  new  obligations  for  employers  to  ensure  equal  pay  for  men  and 
women and pay transparency. This reform will help identify discriminatory situations 
due to incorrect job assessments (i.e. lower pay for work of equal value). In addition, 
it revised the compensation for parents, primarily mothers, for the cost of a birth and 
childcare, in order to reduce the gender pension gap in the long run. 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
III.  WAY FORWARD: A FLEXIBLE INSTRUMENT TAILORED TO 
EMERGING CHALLENGES  

III.a.  Reinforcing national recovery and resilience plans to address new challenges  

Funding under highly favourable financing terms is available for Member States under 
the RRF to support additional reforms and investments. It is important to keep in mind that 
Member  States  have  the  possibility  to  reinforce  their  plans  by  adding  new  reforms  and 
investments to be financed through loans. The RRF Regulation sets the maximum amount of 
loans to EUR 360 billion in 2018 prices. So far, around EUR 165 billion of loan support have 
been  committed,  as  shown  in  Figure  13  below.  Therefore,  the  amount  of  RRF  loans  which 
remains available for request by Member States is around EUR 225 billion when converted in 
current prices. RRF loans can be combined with private funding to leverage their impact. In 
order  to  process  requests  for  loans  swiftly  and  to  ensure  a  fair  and  transparent  process,  the 
Commission has suggested, as part of the proposed amending Regulation on REPowerEU, that 
Member States express their intention regarding the possible uptake of RRF loans 30 days after 
the entry into force of the new Regulation.  

Figure 14. Overview on loans committed (billion EUR) 

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

122,6

12,7

11,5

2,7

0,2

14,9

0,7

Greece (2021)

Italy (2021)

Cyprus (2021) Poland (2022) Portugal (2021) Romania (2021) Slovenia (2021)

Source: European Commission 

The RRF as a tool to support achieving the REPowerEU plan’s objectives  

In view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the recent geopolitical events, Member States 
are facing unprecedented challenges. It has become more important than ever to boost the 
resilience  of  Member  States  and  invest  in  strategically  important  areas  in  a  joint  and 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
coordinated manner across the Union, adhering to the principles of fairness and solidarity. The 
focus shifted even more to accelerating the green and digital transition as well as moving ahead 
with reforms and investments to increase crisis preparedness and crisis response capacity. A 
large  number  of  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  already  covers  measure  to  tackle  these 
challenges,  and  speeding  up  the  implementation  of  these  existing  measures  is  certainly  a 
priority. 

The Commission has proposed a REPowerEU plan, using the RRF as one of the main 
delivery  tools.  The  REPowerEU  plan  aims  to  respond  to  the  double  urgency  to  transform 
Europe's energy system: phasing out the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which are 
used as an economic and political weapon and cost European taxpayers nearly EUR 100 billion 
per year, increasing our resilience and fast forwarding the clean transition. Building on the Fit 
for  55  package  and  completing  the  actions  on  energy  security  of  supply  and  storage,  the 
REPowerEU Plan puts forward an additional set of actions to: 1) save energy and boost energy 
efficiency, 2) diversify energy supplies, 3) accelerate clean energy transition, and 4) smartly 
combine  investments  and  reforms.  The  Commission  proposal  aims  to  ensure  that  Member 
States propose a REPowerEU chapter in  any modified  Recovery  and Resilience Plan. Such 
chapter a should be focused on measures contributing to REPowerEU’s objectives to support 
energy savings, diversify energy supplies and accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy to 
replace fossil fuels in homes, industry, transport and power generation. Such a chapter should 
support these objectives through an accelerated requalification of the workforce towards green 
skills, as well as support of the value chains in key materials and technologies linked to the 
green transition. 

Additional resources have been proposed for the RRF to respond to these unprecedented 
geopolitical  challenges.  Increasing  the  diversification  and  security  of  the  Union’s  energy 
supply  and  reducing  the  EU’s  dependency  on  fossil  fuels  is  vital  for  a  successful  and 
sustainable recovery. Member States have the possibility to make use of the remaining loan 
envelop under the RRF and use loans to support measures in line with REPowerEU objectives. 
The Commission has also proposed to increase the RRF’s available funds by EUR 20 billion 
from the sale of EU Emission Trading System allowances currently held in the Market Stability 
Reserve to  help  Member States address  these challenges.  Finally, the proposal  provides the 
Member  States  with  the  possibility  at  their  request  to  transfer  to  the  RRF  a  part  of  their 
allocation under shared management programmes. In particular, a larger share of their 2021-
2027 allocation under the funds of the Common Provision Regulation (increase from 5% to up 
to 12.5%) and up to 12.5% of their national allocation under the European Agricultural Fund 
for Rural Development can be allocated to the RRPs, in light of the high alignment between 
the RRF and those programmes’ objectives.   

Recovery and Resilience Plans are well positioned to implement these urgent priorities. 
Member States’ Recovery and Resilience Plans will serve as a strategic framework for reforms 
and  investments  to  ensure  joint  European  action  for  more  resilient,  secure  and  sustainable 
energy systems in line with the objectives of the REPowerEU plan. The modified plans will 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
need to address the 2022 country-specific recommendations, and in particular those in the field 
of energy.  

III.b.  Moving ahead: guidance to Member States on updating the plans  

The new guidance note on the RRPs in the context of REPowerEU provides the necessary 
information and instructions for Member States to modify  their plans in relation to the 
updated  allocation,  while  also  adding  reforms  and  investments  to  address  the  REPowerEU 
objectives.  

The  new  Guidance  is  focused  on  the  process  to  modify  existing  plans  whereas  the 
guidance  of  January  202128  remains  valid  for  the  preparation  of  RRPs  overall. 
Specifically,  the  new  guidance  note  sets  out  the  way  the  REPowerEU  chapter  should  be 
structured and what it should contain: 

The  Commission  has  also  made  clear  in  the  Guidance  that  the  addition  of  REPowerEU 
Chapters in the RRPs should not delay the implementation of the RRPs. It is important that 
Member States continue to focus on the implementation of the existing RRPs, to allow progress 
with milestones and targets, considering their relevance to recover faster from the economic 
impact of the pandemic and become more resilient. 

The modification of RRPs should therefore be well justified and limited to a specific range of 
situations in order to allow for a swift adoption and mobilisation of the additional investments 
and reforms. The ambition of the RRPs should not be reduced, including notably on reforms 
addressing country specific recommendations. 

Conclusion  

The RRF was established in February 2021 to promote the Union’s economic, social and 
territorial  cohesion  and  provide  significant  financial  support  to  Member  States  in  the 
context of the Covid-19 crisis , by stepping up the implementation of sustainable reforms 
and investments. Eighteen months later, major progress has been made: the implementation 
of the ambitious reform and investment agenda put forward by the Member States is firmly on 
its way, suppporting the acceleration of Europe’s green and digital transitions. 

Moreover,  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  has  become  the  cornerstone  of  the 
European Union’s future-oriented strategy, as national Recovery and Resilience Plans set 
the investment and reform agenda to boost an inclusive and sustainable growth for the 
coming years. In this regard, the RRF will help Member States to tackle inequalities between 

28 Commission Staff Working Document (2021) 12 final 
30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
women and men through measures specifically focusing on gender equality and by supporting 
equality mainstreaming across the six policy pillars.  

The unique nature of the Facility, as a demand-driven, performance-based instrument, 
has  also  positively  demonstrated  its  effectiveness  in  this  early  phase.  It  supports  the 
implementation of a combination of mutually reinforcing reforms and investments, which are 
designed  together  with  Member  States,  and  tailored-made  to  their  needs,  and  provide  the 
adequate incentives to ensure their implementation over the medium term. 

Since the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, unprecedented geopolitical and 
economic events have drastically impacted the Union’s society and economy, which are 
now confronted to a new crisis stemming from the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 
The measures included in the existing Recovery and Resilience Plans to deliver on the green 
and  digital  transitions  remain  essential  and  need  to  be  implemented  to  their  full  extent. 
Furthermore, a large number of measures included in Member States’ Recovery and Resilience 
Plans are already expected to contribute to the new challenges. At the same time, the recent 
geopolitical and economic developments call for an even greater sense of urgency and a higher 
level of ambition to significantly improve the resilience of the Union’s energy supply, decrease 
the dependency on energy imports, and support just transitions. This requires a combination of 
additional investments and reforms, both at EU and national level.  

In this context, given the first tangible successes of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, 
the  Commission  proposed  to  make  it  the  main  delivery  tool  of  REPowerEU.29  The 
available loan capacity of the RRF, as well as the proposed additional funding sources, can 
contribute to strengthening Europe’s open strategic autonomy, reduce Union’s dependency on 
fossil  fuels,  and  support  renewable  energy  and  reduce  energy  consumption  overall.  With  a 
REPowerEU chapter to strengthen their ambition, the recovery and resilience plans are well 
positioned  to  serve  as  a  key  Europe’s  strategic  framework  for  reforms  and  investments  to 
ensure joint European action for more resilient, secure and sustainable energy systems.  

29 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/241 
as  regards  REPowerEU  chapters  in  recovery  and  resilience  plans  and  amending  Regulation  2021/1060, 
2021/2115, 2003/87/EC and Decision 2015/1814. Full text available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/proposal-
regulation-european-parliament-and-council-amending-regulation-eu-2021-241-regards-repowereu-chapters-
recovery-and-resilience-plans-and-amending-regulation-2021-1060-2021-2115-2003-87-ec-2015-1814_en 

31