The European Commission recently endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Luxembourg's payment request for €20.2 million of grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of the NextGenerationEU temporary recovery instrument.
Luxembourg's Ministry of Finance confirmed that the Grand Duchy submitted its recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission in April 2021.
According to the Commission, Luxembourg then submitted a payment request at the end of December 2022, based on the achievement of the 26 milestones and targets selected in the Council Implementing Decision for the first instalment. This includes the entry into force of the "Housing Pact 2.0" reform aimed at increasing the supply of affordable rental housing offered by municipalities, as well as the digitalisation of the public sector with the development of the MyGuichet.lu mobile application. It also covers green mobility measures with, for instance, the implementation of a legal framework setting a minimum percentage of clean vehicles in public procurement contracts. The Commission added that the milestones and targets also confirm progress towards the completion of investment projects related to ultra-secure communication with the Luxembourg Quantum Communication Infrastructure Laboratory, the upskilling of the workforce with the launch of the "FutureSkills" programme and the digitalisation of health.
With their request, according to the Commission, the Luxembourg authorities provided detailed and comprehensive evidence demonstrating the satisfactory fulfilment of the 26 milestones and targets. The Commission added that it had thoroughly assessed this information before presenting its positive preliminary assessment of the payment request.
Luxembourg's recovery and resilience plan includes a range of investment and reform measures in eight thematic components. The plan will be supported by €82.7 million in grants, €12.1 million of which was disbursed to Luxembourg in pre-financing on 3 August 2021.
Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Yuriko Backes, commented: "I welcome the decision of the European Commission which confirms the significant progress we have made in implementing our recovery and resilience plan. This positive assessment demonstrates Luxembourg's commitment to a sustainable economic recovery and our desire to contribute to the construction of a more resilient and more digital European Union."
Payments under the RRF are performance-based and contingent on Member States implementing the investments and reforms outlined in their respective recovery and resilience plans.
The Commission has now sent its positive preliminary assessment of Luxembourg's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), asking for its opinion. The EFC's opinion, to be delivered within a maximum of four weeks, should be taken into account in the Commission's assessment. Following the EFC's opinion, the Commission will adopt the final decision on the disbursement of the financial contribution, in accordance with the examination procedure, through a comitology committee. Following the adoption of the decision by the Commission, the disbursement to Luxembourg can take place.
