Debate: Establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility
Date: TUESDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2021
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

The compromise reached by Parliament and the Council in December is a significant achievement. It is a balanced agreement that cements our determination to combine ambitious reforms and investments to secure our way out of this crisis in a lasting manner. The agreement is an important signal that the EU’s institutions are united at this time of crisis. Let me highlight some of its main points. The compromise reflects the EU’s ambitions on the green and digital transitions. It sets a binding green target of 37% and a binding digital target of 20% at the level of the individual national recovery and resilience plans. It reinforces the green dimension, particularly by improving the methodology for climate tracking. It introduces new safeguards for digital measures that will help preserve Europe’s security and strategic autonomy. While the discussions on governance were not easy, we found a compromise that ensures that the voice of Parliament will be heard – and listened to – throughout the implementation of the Facility, while respecting the constraints given by the institutional balance. The scope of the Facility has been restructured in six pillars and Member States are required to provide balanced recovery and resilience plans that respond to these policy areas of European relevance. They will also help to explain how their plans contribute to implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights, on which the Commission will shortly present an action plan.  At the same time, the compromise preserves the anchor of the Facility in the European Semester, including the need for Member States to address in their plans at least a significant subset of the challenges identified in the relevant country-specific recommendations. Finally, the compromise agreement protects the EU’s financial instruments by making the approval of the plans contingent on adequate national control systems. Now that almost all Member States are preparing their plans at full speed, Parliament’s endorsement of the agreement is very important. It is also essential that Member States ratify the Own Resources Decision as soon as possible so that the Commission can start carrying out its funding operations. We need to put the Facility into effect as quickly as we can. European money needs to start flowing to Member States to help in their recovery, support their businesses and people, and re-start their economies in a direction that is sustainable and resilient. The Commission is in constant contact with all Member States to discuss the preparation of the plans. To date, there has been substantial progress and we have a relatively clear view of what 18 of the 27 Member States intend to include in their Recovery and Resilience Plans. However, there is still a lot of work ahead. Even those Member States whose plans are most advanced are now working on translating investment and reforms into operational milestones or on complying with other requirements of the Regulation. We are there to help. Developing high-quality national plans with a long-lasting impact will be key to the overall success of the Facility. They will make the European Union and its Member States more resilient. For this to happen, we need to find a proper balance between reforms and investment. The plans also match our joint ambition to accelerate the green and digital transitions. Member States need to include genuine green and digital reforms and investments to match the targets. The plans should not include a patchwork of small measures with little impact. Indeed, they should reflect a clear strategy for embracing the twin transitions and implementing reforms in line with the country-specific recommendations. Along with work on preparing and assessing the plans, the Commission will also work on the delegated acts required under the Regulation. First, the recovery and resilience scoreboard will be the main tool to inform the public on progress in implementing the Facility across the six pillars. Second, the Commission should develop common performance indicators that will be published on the scoreboard. Another important and related work-stream will be to create a methodology for reporting on social expenditure. In all of these areas, the Commission will work constructively and transparently with Parliament and the Council to achieve the best outcome. We call on the honourable Members to endorse the Recovery and Resilience Facility so that Member States can officially start submitting their plans for the Facility and to put the Facility into practical effect.