Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission backs the Netherlands’ €1.3 billion payment request under NextGenerationEU for achieving milestones and targets in the green transition, digitalisation, and labour market reforms.
The European Commission has supported a positive preliminary review of the Netherlands’ first payment request for €1.3 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, an important part of NextGenerationEU.
Following its review of the payment request presented on 24 May 2024, the EU Commission has preliminarily deduced that the Netherlands has satisfactorily satisfied the 25 milestones and 5 targets outlined in the Council Implementing Decision for the first instalment, including the first landmark of the Netherlands‘ REPowerEU chapter.
What Reforms Are Included in the Netherlands’ Payment Request?
Nine reforms and ten investments will cause positive change for citizens and businesses in the Netherlands in the dimensions of the green transition, digitalisation, as well as the labour market. The payment request protects important reforms linking to the pension system, environmental taxation, housing demand, self-employment, the digital adaptation of the central government, assertive tax planning and the electricity grid code. The payment request also includes a cluster of investments in the dimensions of training and career advice for individuals in the Dutch labour market, rail traffic administration, research and development of quantum technologies, digital tools for students and e-health care for people living at home.
How Will EU Funds Benefit Dutch Citizens and Businesses?
Flagship steps in this payment request include: ‘The Netherlands persists to learn’: this investment enhances the employment prospects of individuals in the Dutch labour market via multiple subsidy systems. These were designed to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market, via which many jobs ceased to exist or were modified, while new jobs also appeared. In this payment request, financial support is delivered to qualified career advisors to consult on an individual basis people’s job situations and prospects.
How Does the Netherlands’ Request Fit Into NextGenerationEU?
Reform of the electricity grid code: this reform, which is characteristic of the REPowerEU chapter of the Netherlands, delivers new tools for grid operators to control the grid flexibly during periods of congestion. One of these instruments is the capacity restricting contract, which permits the grid operator to request that a related party does not make full use of the transport capacity when the grid is (or risks being) packed, to free up capacity on the grid.
What Are the Next Steps After EU’s Preliminary Approval?
In the next steps, the EU Commission has now dispatched its preliminary assessment of the Netherlands´ completion of the milestones and targets needed for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to give its opinion. The payment to the Netherlands can take place following the EFC’s view, and the adoption of a payment conclusion by the Commission. The Netherlands’ recovery and resilience strategy includes a wide spectrum of investment and reform measures. The plan will be funded by €5.4 billion in grants.
