Denmark, Lithuania, Austria and Sweden recovery plans get EU Council green light

The Council of the European Union has adopted implementing decisions approving the amended recovery and resilience plans of four Member States, namely Denmark, Lithuania, Austria and Sweden. The amended recovery and resilience plans now include a new REPowerEU chapter, which will contribute to accelerating the countries’ transition towards clean energy, diversifying their energy supplies and improving their energy efficiency.

The total financial contribution available to Denmark will now be €1.63bn in grants (the country has not requested loans). The modified plan has a stronger focus on the green transition, devoting 69% of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives (up from 59% in the original plan). 

For Lithuania, the modified plan also focuses on the green transition, devoting 37% of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives. The plan is now worth €3.85bn (€2.3bn in grants and €1.55bn in loans) which is nearly double the size of the initial recovery and resilience plan. 

For Austria, the modified plan allocated 56% of available funds to measures that support climate objectives, and the country will benefit from €3.96bn in grants.

For Sweden, the modified plan allocated 43.6% of available funds to measures that support climate objectives, and the country will benefit from €3.45bn in grants.

The recovery and resilience facility (RRF) is the EU’s programme of financial support in response to the challenges Covid-19 has posed to the European economy. It is the core of NextGenerationEU, a temporary recovery instrument that allows the Commission to raise funds to help repair the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To benefit from the facility’s €724bn, Member States submit recovery and resilience plans to the European Commission, setting out the reforms and investments they intend to implement by the end of 2026.