European Recovery Fund
To alleviate the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, the European Union has set up a recovery fund within NextGenerationEU: the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)(opens in new window). This fund allows for grants and loans to be provided to Member States, which are required to submit a National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to that end. NextGenerationEU(opens in new window) provides direct support and loans to Member States.
A maximum of €5.9 billion in support had originally been allocated to Belgium. Of this, Flanders was originally entitled to a maximum of €2.255 billion for its recovery plan. In late June 2022, the European Commission adjusted this total amount for Belgium downwards to €4.52 billion. This was due, among other things, to the stronger-than-expected growth of the Belgian economy. The allocation key originally determined continues to apply, which means that Flanders is entitled to a maximum of 38.06% of the €4.52 billion. In absolute budget terms, this amounts to €1.72 billion for Flanders.
On 8 December 2023, the ECOFIN Council approved the adjusted National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). A total of 15 Flemish Resilience projects with associated milestones and targets were removed from the NRRP in their entirety. In addition, eight projects received a partially reduced grant under the RRF. The Government of Flanders itself will fund those projects that will no longer be funded by Europe. The full implementation of the Flemish Resilience Recovery Plan will therefore not be affected by the reduced European funds.