Massive NextGeneration EU recovery plan expected to commence over the summer

The EU’s mammoth Covid recovery fund now appears just over the horizon after the latest developments this week, including last-minute deliberations in Athens amongst top EU leaders, who met on the sidelines of the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the country’s entry into the then EEC.

The parliaments of Austria and Poland were the last of the EU27 members to ratify the 672-billion-euro funding plan.

Taking to his Twitter account on Friday, Johannes Hahn, the EU’s Commissioner for Budget and Administration, underlined that “…with the successful votes in the Austrian and Polish Parliaments today, all 27 Member-States have finalized now the parliamentary process of the OwnResourcesDecision approval.”

The European Commission, on its part, appears optimistic that the first pre-financing schemes under the plan, officially known as NextGeneration EU, will be possible by the end of July.

In describing the process, a Commission spokesperson said member-states who have submitted their master plans before April 30 (which includes Greece) will receive an evaluation by the Commission before the end of June; with the Council then allowed at most four weeks to approve of the Commission’s proposal.
Another two months are forecast for the first funds to flow from the recovery fund.