The Council of Ministers approved on Friday the submission of an initial payment request to the European authorities as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), says Secretary of State for Recovery and Strategic Investments Thomas Dermine (PS).
Belgium hopes to obtain a total of €4.5 billion from the recovery plan adopted in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to help Member States revive their economies. In return, the countries must present a plan of reforms and investments.
Of the first tranche of aid of €847 million, €178 million will go to the federal state. Before submitting the application, Belgium had to achieve various objectives (or “milestones”) that would enable this envelope to be released. At the federal level, twelve milestones are taken into account, including pension reform.
By July 2021, Belgium had already received an initial European pre-financing payment of €770 million.
For the entire recovery plan, the federal state will be able to count on €1 billion in subsidies. After the first tranche of aid, the Federal State will have received a third of the subsidies allocated to it in this context.
Decision to be adopted in 2024
After receiving the application, the European Commission will have two months to assess it.
The request will then be discussed by the EU Council for a maximum of one month. The Commission will then adopt its decision on the payment of the funds, taking account of the Council’s opinion. The actual payment is not expected before the beginning of 2024.
“This payment request is a major step for Belgium, confirming the country’s concrete progress in implementing the Recovery Plan’s reforms and investments. Next spring, we will submit a second payment request for a significant number of investment projects,” said Thomas Dermine.
