European Commission calls for quicker implementation of RRP measures in Portugal

The European Commission called on Portugal on Wednesday to accelerate the implementation of its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) for the “timely completion” of the planned reforms and investments, with around half of the milestones still to be met.

“Taking into account the deadlines for the timely completion of reforms and investments, [the country should] accelerate the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, including the REPowerEU chapter,” the institution said in its spring package of the European Semester, the European Union’s annual framework for coordinating economic, budgetary, social and employment policy.

EU sources explained that the country, along with others in the EU, has 50 to 85% of the steps pending.
“With the Recovery and Resilience Facility [which finances the RRP] set to end in 2026, rapid and targeted implementation is essential, with most Member States needing to accelerate progress,” Brussels warned.

At a press conference in the Belgian capital, during the presentation of the European Semester spring package, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis indicated that “Portugal has so far received more than half of its funding envelope – 51.3% – so it is certainly not among the countries with the lowest disbursement rates, but in any case this work must continue at a rapid pace”.

“We have less than a year and a half to finalise all the milestones,” he warned, calling on all EU countries to “urgently accelerate implementation”.

In total, the Portuguese PRR is worth €22.2 billion, with €16.3 billion in grants and €5.9 billion in loans from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which relate to 376 investments and 87 reforms. This represents 8.29% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The country has already received €8.49 billion in grants and €2.9 billion in loans, with a plan implementation rate of 33%.

The European Commission on Wednesday also called on European Union (EU) countries to review their Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) to include only measures that can be implemented by August 2026, with payments ending in December of that year.

“In line with the legal deadlines and the temporary nature of the mechanism, member states must meet all milestones and targets by August 31, 2026, with the Commission making final payments by December 31, 2026. “With these deadlines approaching and more than €335 billion still available […], it is essential to speed up implementation,” the institution said in a statement published today.

Calling on EU countries to optimise their RRPs, the EU executive said that member states “are invited to review their plans, including only measures that are implementable by 31 August 2026, and to explore alternative measures to use the remaining financial allocations”.