Portugal will receive 1.06 billion euros from the seventh payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) of the NextGenerationEU program, the European Commission announced on Tuesday. The government is already planning the next ‘check’.
“All milestones and targets of the seventh payment request were recognized as valid, and the payment was fully made, which means we are up to date,” said the Minister of Economy, Manuel Castro Almeida, in Parliament, adding: “We were already, we are up to date, we received the seventh payment request, and we will submit the eighth payment request within the deadline to continue being up to date.”
What is the current situation?
In the scope of the seventh ‘check’ of the RRF, which already has ‘green light’, it concerns the disbursement of 1.064 billion euros, raising the overall execution rate of the RRF to 47%.
In a statement, the European Commission indicated that, following the evaluation of the payment request, it concluded that Portugal satisfactorily met the 11 milestones and 16 targets of the Council’s Implementing Decision concerning the seventh tranche.
The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, welcomed today the approval of the seventh payment request of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRF), stating that it is a process that “is on time”.
The measures related to this payment request include, among others, the acquisition of medical equipment, support for vulnerable people at risk of social exclusion, new vehicles and equipment for firefighters, civil protection and security forces, and publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations.
And after the RRF? Minister issues warning
In Parliament, the Minister of Economy also issued a warning for the State and municipalities to prepare “to live from 2027 onwards without RRF resources for investment and even without human resources” that were hired for this purpose.
In a statement issued after the approval, the minister also said that the evaluation is “a clear signal that Portugal is turning ambition into results” and that the European Commission’s confidence is proof that the RRF’s execution is being done “well and with determination”.
Once this installment is approved by the Council, the funds paid to Portugal under the RRF will amount to 13.8 billion euros (including the 2.33 billion euros pre-financing received in September 2021 and the 171 million euros pre-payment under REPowerEU received on December 21, 2023).
Besides Portugal, Greece and Slovenia also saw payment requests approved, totaling almost four billion euros.
