RRF: Portugal delivers to the Commission revision for simplification and ensures full execution

Portugal submitted yesterday, 31 October, a final revision of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to the European Commission, a decisive step towards ensuring it completes the RRF within the European timeframes and with concrete results for the country.

The revision concentrates resources on the interventions that need to be met by 2026, and which bring visible results to the communities and companies. 

The Government thereby resumes its attitude based on a responsible management of the RRF focusing on investments that in due time generate value, bring innovation and competitiveness to the country and accelerate the ever-important twin transition – green and digital.

"What we present to the Commission is a revision of the responsible execution. The RRF is to be met, not just promised. We are making sure that every investment represents results on the ground, companies, and people’s lives", stated the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion Castro Almeida on the document’s delivery.

This revision ensures three things:

• That all the grants established in the RRF will be met

• That all the RRF grants will be invested: some targets were raised and others lowered, ensuring the end allocation remains the same

• The works set to be funded using RRF loans that cannot be executed by August 2026, to the sum of 311 million euros will be executed using other loans at equivalent interest rates. This is the case for the Lisbon Metro underground red line.

"Today, Portugal has a simpler, clearer, and more result-oriented RRF. We made the necessary adjustments to make sure that everything in the Recovery and Resilience Facility is completed successfully. That is what the Portuguese people are expecting", the Minister stressed.

The revision now submitted allows increasing investment in areas that are important for the national economy, as those that focus on innovation in order to boost companies’ competitiveness. 

The Financial Instrument for Innovation and Competitiveness takes on a relevant role for economic growth and companies’ competitive positioning on the global market.

In this revision, to simplify the RRF, timeframes were adjusted and administrative barriers taken down to prove milestones and targets. In this same line, the European Commission will also accept the elimination or merger of intermediate milestones and targets or those associated with lower value measures under the applicable rules.

The targets for the construction of new houses were merged with those for rehabilitating houses that are unfit for living, targets which were previously separate. The targets for building palliative care centres and continued care centres were also separate and have now been merged.

Accordingly, there are now 196 milestones and targets to be presented for the 8th payment request during this year and in the 9th and 10th payment requests to be made in 2026.