The maximum amount of non-repayable grant money available from the EU to finance the Covid-recovery programs of member states was spelled out by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers today.
The figures available range from €69.5 billion for Spain and €68.9 billion for Italy down to €989 million for Ireland, €970 million for Estonia, €316 million for Malta, and €93 million for Luxembourg, to be disbursed in three stages up to the end of 2023.
The two EU bodies indicated those amounts will come out of the €312.5 billion to be made available in the form of grants as part of the bloc's €672.5 billion recovery and resilience fund (RRF)–although the sum of the grant ceilings published added up to €338 billion, presumably to take into account currency fluctuation to the end of 2023. The balance of the €672.5 billion will come in the form of EU loans to member states over the same period.
Renewable energy generation projects will qualify for RRF backing but, in every case, finance granted in response to national recovery plans submitted by member states by April must be accompanied by contributions out of national budgets.
The RRF rules document, published today on the EUR-Lex European law website, stated projects begun since the start of this month will be eligible for RRF backing, with a requirement at least 37% of spending be devoted to ‘climate objectives' and 20% to digital transformation. RRF-backed projects must also be proven to do no significant harm to the bloc's environmental objectives.
The three-year plan is set to come into force this month and member states will be able to secure 13% of the grant and loan support available to them, “to the extent possible,” by May, the document stated. Some 70% of the maximum funding on offer will be disbursed by the end of 2022, with the remaining 30% available in 2023.
The maximum, three-year grant funding available to the other EU member states (rounded) is as follows: France, €39.4 billion; Germany, €25.6 billion; Poland, €23.9 billion; Greece, €17.8 billion; Romania, €14.2 billion; Portugal, €13.9 billion; Hungary, €7.18 billion; Czechia, €7.07 billion; Slovakia, €6.33 billion; Croatia, €6.3 billion; Bulgaria, €6.27 billion; the Netherlands, €5.96 billion; Belgium, €5.93 billion; Austria, €3.46 billion; Sweden, €3.29 billion; Lithuania, €2.22 billion; Finland, €2.09 billion; Latvia, €1.96 billion; Slovenia, €1.78 billion; Denmark, €1.55 billion; and Cyprus, €1.01 billion.
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