NextGenerationEU: European Commission disburses €2.25 billion in pre-financing to Germany

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The European Commission has today disbursed €2.25 billion to Germany in pre-financing, equivalent to 9% of the country’s financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This corresponds to the pre-financing amount requested by Germany in its recovery and resilience plan. The pre-financing payment will help kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Germany’s recovery and resilience plan.

The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Germany’s recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €25.6 billion in total, fully consisting of grants, over the lifetime of its plan.

Today’s disbursement follows the recent successful implementation of the first borrowing operations under NextGenerationEU. By the end of the year, the Commission intends to raise up to a total of €80 billion in long-term funding, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills, to fund the first planned disbursements to Member States under NextGenerationEU.  

Part of NextGenerationEU, the RRF will provide €723.8 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across Member States. The German plan is part of the unprecedented EU response to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, fostering the green and digital transitions and strengthening resilience and cohesion in our societies.

Supporting transformative investments and reform projects

The RRF in Germany finances investments and reforms that are expected to have a deeply transformative effect on Germany’s economy and society. Here are some of these projects:

• Securing the green transition: The German plan will invest €1.5 billion in green hydrogen to help decarbonise the German economy. €2.5 billion will be used to help citizens acquire more than 800,000 decarbonised vehicles.
• Supporting the digital transition: The German plan will devote €3 billion to making more than 215 public services digitally available and allot €2.25 billion to large-scale cross-border European initiatives in microelectronics and next generation cloud infrastructures.
• Reinforcing economic and social resilience: The German plan will invest €3 billion in modernising hospitals to improve their digital infrastructure, emergency capacities, tele-medicine, robotics, and IT and cyber-security. The plan also includes a joint programme at national and regional levels to tackle investment bottlenecks, shortening administrative planning and approval procedures, standardising requirements to request financing subsidies and accelerating housing construction.

Members of the College said:

President Ursula von der Leyen said: “COVID-19 is an exceptional crisis because it proves that health, the environment and the economy are all connected. This is why it is so important to invest now for change, to build a future that is at the same time more resilient, more ecologically-friendly and competitive. That’s what NextGenerationEU aims to achieve through its support to the investment and reform plans of EU Member States. And so I am very happy that today we are making the first payment of over €2.2 billion to Germany to support its efforts to create a more decarbonised and digital economy and society.”

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration said: “After three very successful bond issuances under NextGenerationEU over the past few weeks, and the first payments for other NGEU programmes, I am glad that we have now also reached the disbursement stage for the RRF. Intense cooperation with Germany and solid preparation within the Commission allowed us to pay out the funds in record time. This shows that with the resources raised, we will be able to swiftly deliver on the pre-financing needs of all Member States, thus giving them the initial boost in implementing the numerous green and digital projects included in their national plans.”

Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy said: “Today’s pre-financing is the first part of the €25 billion in grants that Germany will receive through the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Germany’s recovery and resilience plan will support efforts to develop an efficient hydrogen economy, investments in sustainable transport and energy-efficient building renovations, as well as the digitalisation of public services, healthcare and education. Particularly welcome are the measures to support disadvantaged groups and facilitate women’s participation in the labour market, for instance through expanded childcare services and all-day schooling. These are challenges that the Commission has long recommended that Germany address.”