The Socialists and Democrats ask the European Commission to continue the funding of mature projects under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) – the centerpiece instrument of the NextGenerationEU – after the RRF's end in 2026. The S&D Group gathered a majority for this call in a vote by the plenary of the European Parliament on the report on the implementation of the RRF, drafted jointly by the parliamentary committees on budgets and economic and monetary affairs. The S&D negotiators on the report succeeded in including the following key issues in the report:
- a call for an 18-month extension for mature projects;
- a transfer mechanism, so that unfinished projects can continue to receive funding under other EU instruments such as cohesion funds, InvestEU, or a future Competitiveness Fund;
- clear, objective, and fair evaluation criteria and more flexibility in the revision process of the national recovery and resilience plans;
- reinforcement of the role of local and regional authorities, who are closest to the citizens and often bear the responsibility for delivering the projects funded by the EU;
- a call on the participation of social partners and civil society who must be involved when shaping reforms that affect people’s daily lives;
- a call on the Commission to assess the allocation of national plans to education and culture, using the targets initially proposed by the Parliament as a benchmark – 10% for education and 2% for cultural activities.
Victor Negrescu, vice-president of the European Parliament and leading negotiator on the matter in the committee on budgets, said:
"We must ensure that every single euro is spent correctly, transparently, and has a positive impact on our citizens and businesses. Unless we act now, critical investments risk being left unfinished after the end of the Facility in August 2026. For this reason, as the leading rapporteur in this file in the committee on budgets, I pushed for pragmatic and concrete solutions and called for an 18-month funding extension for mature projects. This idea is central to the report adopted today, together with the possibility of finalising of ongoing projects also through other funding schemes, such as the cohesion funds, InvestEU, or a future Competitiveness Fund.
"There are great challenges, both in world geopolitics and within the EU. In this context, member states should be allowed to adjust their National Recovery and Resilience Plans faster and easier, in line with the RRF objectives. I am particularly glad as not only our group gathered a majority in the plenary today, but also convinced the European Commission to include several of these points in its communication, NextGenerationEU - The Road to 2026, after initially disagreeing with them. But we need more than partial solutions, we need a comprehensive approach to the ongoing projects under the RRF. Where there is a political will, there is always a way."
Costas Mavrides, S&D negotiator on the matter in the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs, said:
"Since the creation of the RRF back in 2021, the S&D Group stands for full use of the opportunities it offers with the instrument being set up to help economic recovery in the EU after the Covid-19 pandemic. The RRF is instrumental for so many entrepreneurial ideas to come to life with great positive impact on society and the economy. It is thanks to our group that the European Parliament calls on the Commission to establish a target- and performance-based prioritisation and transfer system after the 2026 deadline in order to allow for the finalisation of ongoing projects through other funding schemes, including the European Investment Fund and a possible new European Competitiveness Fund.
"Our group has a leading role in the report, urging the member states to accelerate investments in affordable housing for all, using RRF funds. While acknowledging the positive impact of the Facility on society and economy, we are also concerned about the massive gap in public investments after the end of the RRF. Therefore, we call for the uninterrupted continuation of EU support for public investments without diverting resources from existing programmes. The best way to address it is by creating a common permanent long-term investment instrument, building on the RRF's experience."
