Written by Magdalena Sapała with Luca Schollaert.
The Netherlands is set to receive €5 441.4 million in grants for the implementation of its national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP). This includes €4 707.1 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU instrument to tackle the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, and €734.4 million under REPowerEU, the EU initiative to reduce dependency from Russian fossil fuels. The plan is relatively small compared with most Member States’ plans. Its total value equals 0.7 % of Dutch gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, or €309 per capita. On 17 October 2023, at the Netherlands’ request and after receiving a positive assessment from the European Commission, the Council approved the modified Dutch NRRP. In the new version, nine measures were amended and a new one was introduced. On top of this, the plan was extended by a REPowerEU chapter with one reform and one investment.
The Dutch plan is one of the most ambitious among the Member States as regards the share of investment devoted to the green transition. Planned spending on this area exceeds the compulsory targets by 17.9 % (totalling 54.9 %). The compulsory target for digital expenditure is exceeded by 5.6 %, totalling 25.6 %. Other priorities of the plan include improving the housing and labour market and pension and education systems, strengthening public healthcare and pandemic preparedness, and tackling tax avoidance and money laundering. Some 14 % of the total envelope for the plan is expected to contribute to the REPowerEU objectives.
On 27 May 2024, the European Commission received the first payment request from the Dutch authorities for a total of €1 333 million in grants. The Netherlands is one of the last three Member States not yet to have received any payments. Disbursement of the allocation for the Netherlands – divided into five instalments – will depend on progress made on implementing the plan.
The European Parliament participates in interinstitutional forums for cooperation and discussion on RRF implementation, and scrutinises the European Commission’s work.
Read the complete briefing on ‘The Netherlands’ National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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