Portugal ensures 40% execution of the RRF for 2024

The European Commission confirmed today the positive evaluation of the 5th payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), to the sum of 2.9 billion euros. The payment of this request is the largest so far; 1.65 billion in grants and 1.25 billion in loans.

This reflects meeting the 15 associated targets and 27 milestones, which include reforms in areas such as energy efficiency, waste management, tax simplification, and the capital market. 

The request also covers significant investments in essential sectors to the country’s future, such as housing, sustainable public transportation, corporate capitalisation, digitalisation, modernising the tax and customs system, and fire prevention.

The Government took a decisive step to meet the 40% target in 2024 by sending to the European Commission on the 15th of November, 45 days ahead of schedule, the 6th RRF payment request, corresponding to a 38.6% execution rate. 

By bringing this request to Brussels forward by several weeks, it became the second Member State to do so, after Italy. Portugal thereby set the margin to execute the remaining 1.4% in the last few days of November and throughout December, reaching the 40% target before year-end.

"We are bringing the timelines forward and will fully execute the grants Brussels put at our disposal by the end of 2026", Minister Castro Almeida stated. "We are improving processes throughout the entire application evaluation chain, monitoring projects and their completion to modernise the country and, with it, quickly transfer the European money to the economy".

"With this positive evaluation, plus the early 6th payment request and the early achievement of the 7th request targets and milestones, Portugal shows its capacity to align with the European schedules and reinforces the commitment with the efficient RRF execution. Bringing the 6th request forward by a month and a half reinforces the country’s credibility in managing the RRF, and it also states Portugal’s claim as one of the Member States that is most committed to the European Union’s economic recovery", the Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and Territorial Cohesion added.

A reprogramming exercise is ongoing that is to be delivered to the European Commission.

"While we are accelerating the ongoing execution, in January we will hand over to the European Commission a reprogramming document that will identify the necessary adjustments to remain on the path to meet the RRF goals", Castro Almeida stated. "We need to continue operating on several fronts to meet the Government’s ambition to execute the full RRF grants on time".