The European Commission has published new guidelines for EU countries on how to close the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the €723.8 billion funding programme set up after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility, often shortened to the RRF, is the main part of the EU’s NextGenerationEU recovery package and was created in 2021, the Commission said in a statement on Monday.
Under the scheme, countries can receive money if they deliver reforms and investments set out in their national Recovery and Resilience Plans.
The Commission said the new guidance covers how national authorities should handle final payment requests and prepare for key deadlines in the last stage of the programme.
It also sets out how to deal with situations where agreed “milestones and targets” — the steps countries must complete to unlock payments — have not been met, or where earlier approvals are later found to be incorrect.
Deadlines and post-2026 obligations
The final deadline for meeting milestones and targets is 31 August 2026, under the RRF Regulation, the Commission said.
EU countries must submit final payment requests by September 2026, and the Commission must execute all payments by 31 December 2026.
The guidance also explains obligations that continue after 2026, including reporting, monitoring, controls, audits and keeping data, to protect the EU’s financial interests.
