Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Estonia and Cyprus receive more than €9.8 billion under NextGenerationEU

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission has disbursed more than €9.8 billion to Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Estonia and Cyprus under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. 

These payments reflect the successful fulfilment of key milestones and targets linked to reforms and investments set out in the five Member States’ national recovery and resilience plans. They underscore the performance-based nature of the RRF, under which funds are disbursed only once agreed reform and investment commitments have been satisfactorily completed. 

Following the Council’s approval to proceed with these disbursements, the Commission adopted the corresponding payment decisions and released the funds today.  

Poland

The Commission disbursed €7.9 billion to Poland after the completion of the related milestones and targets.

The payment supports further implementation of reforms and investments in areas such as:

• strengthening digital technologies in education;
• promoting the use of satellite data with the adoption of a governance framework for space activities;
• supporting urban public transport with 88 new trams purchased for the cities of Wrocław, Poznań and Kraków;
• improving transparency in electricity network connections;
• deploying smart electricity transmission infrastructure.

Today’s payment follows Poland’s fifth payment request, submitted on 19 June 2026 and greenlighted by the Commission on 10 August 2026.

With this fifth payment, Poland has received 77% of its total €54.72 billion allocation under the RRF (€25.28 billion in grants and €29.44 billion in loans).

Sweden

The Commission paid €1.47 billion to Sweden after the fulfilment of a broad set of milestones and targets.

The reforms and investments linked to this payment include, among others:

• measures to advance the green transition such as the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, streamlining environmental permits and speeding up the authorisations for developing the electricity grid;
• creation of additional study places in regional adult vocational education as well as universities and other higher education institutions;
• new legislation for the teaching and nursing assistants’ professions;
• upskilling of staff working in elderly centres;
• revision of the building permit regulatory framework;
• supply of new energy-efficient rental dwellings.

Today’s disbursement follows Sweden’s second payment request, submitted on 23 January 2026 and greenlighted by the Commission on 23 July 2026.

With this second payment, Sweden has received €3.11 billion, or 90.3% of its total €3.45 billion RRF allocation.

Belgium

The Commission disbursed €225 million to Belgium following the satisfactory fulfilment of the relevant milestones and targets. 

Measures linked to this payment include, among others:

• increased provision of low-emission public transport in all three regions of Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia by replacing older diesel buses with electric and hybrid vehicles;
• reform of the vehicle circulation tax in Wallonia to make the system fairer and better aligned to social and environmental priorities;
• investments to improve the energy efficiency of private and social housing throughout the country.

Today’s disbursement follows Belgium’s fifth payment request, submitted on 17 April 2026 and greenlighted by the Commission on 27 July 2026.

With this payment, Belgium has received €3.86 billion, or 73% of its total €5.26 billion allocation under the RRF.

Estonia

The Commission disbursed €135 million in grants to Estonia after the successful completion of the associated milestones and targets.

Measures linked to this payment include, amongst others:

• construction of a new, modern county general hospital and health centre in the city of Viljandi;
• a new 2.5km section of the Tallinn Old Port tram line;
• additional 18 km of cycling and walking paths;
• development of a digital gateway for entrepreneurs;
• adoption of legislative amendments to the support system for children with higher care needs.

Today’s disbursement follows Estonia’s fourth payment request submitted on 31 March 2026 and greenlighted by the Commission on 16 July 2026.

With this fourth payment, Estonia reaches 80% of the total allocation for its national plan of €953 million in grants.

Cyprus

The Commission disbursed nearly €120 million in grants to Cyprus following the satisfactory fulfilment of the relevant milestones and targets. 

Measures linked to this payment include, among others:

• establishment of a new school evaluation system;
• setting up of a cross-border patient health data exchange system;
• introduction of flexible working arrangements in the public sector;
• expansion of electronic services under the building permit e-system;
• expansion of the renewable energy and smart grids testing infrastructure at the University of Cyprus and its connection to the grid.

Today’s disbursement follows Cyprus’s sixth payment request submitted on 17 December 2025 and greenlighted by the Commission on 13 July 2026.

With this sixth payment, Cyprus has reached 67% of the total allocation for its national plan of €1.02 billion in grants.

Background 

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is a performance-based instrument. This means that Member States receive payments only once they have satisfactorily fulfilled the milestones and targets set out in their national recovery and resilience plans. 

The RRF continues to support ambitious reforms and strategic investments across the European Union, contributing to a cleaner, more digital and more resilient economy. As the instrument approaches its conclusion, all reforms and investments had to be completed by 31 August 2026, all payment requests submitted by 30 September 2026 and all corresponding payments must be carried out by 31 December 2026. 

An interactive map showcasing examples of reforms and investments supported by the RRF is available online. Further details on the RRF payment claim process are also available online. 

For more information 

Belgium’s recovery and resilience plan

Cyprus recovery and resilience plan

Estonia recovery and resilience plan

Poland recovery and resilience plan

Sweden recovery and resilience plan

Recovery and Resilience Facility 

Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation 

Recovery and Resilience Facility project map 

Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard 

EU as a borrower