The European Commission has approved Belgium’s fourth request for €567 million from the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund, NextGenerationEU, after concluding the country met a set of reform and investment conditions.
The assessment covers funding requested under the Recovery and Resilience Facility — the main spending programme within NextGenerationEU — and relates to work in areas including green and digital measures, mobility, education and training, and housing, the Commission said in a statement on Thursday.
Belgium was found to have completed 16 “milestones” and 11 “targets” linked to the payment.
Among the measures cited were seven projects in Flanders intended to reconnect fragmented natural areas, including three ecoducts (wildlife bridges), an “eco-valley” crossing that guides animals beneath a road, two viaducts adapted for shared use by people and wildlife, and a wildlife detection system.
Energy rules and payment timeline
In Wallonia, reforms included new rules to speed up environmental assessment procedures for renewable energy projects in designated “renewables acceleration areas”, changes to planning requirements for wind farms, and a measure recognising renewable energy as an “overriding public interest”, the Commission added.
It also said new measures due from 2026 would prevent the installation of coal- or oil-fired heating systems in new buildings.
The Commission has sent its preliminary assessment to the EU’s Economic and Financial Committee, which has four weeks to issue an opinion, it said, adding the payment can be made after that opinion and a subsequent Commission payment decision.
Belgium submitted the payment request on 19 December 2025, and its national plan is financed by €5 billion in grants and €230 million in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
If paid, the latest tranche would bring total funds disbursed to Belgium to €3.64 billion, including €915 million in pre-financing, representing 69% of the total allocated to the plan.
Member states must complete outstanding milestones and targets by 31 August 2026 and submit final payment requests by the end of September 2026, ahead of the facility closing at the end of 2026.
