The European Commission has today disbursed €289 million to Lithuania in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility
(RRF). The pre-financing payment will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Lithuania's recovery and resilience plan.
The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Lithuania's recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €2.22 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 Lithuanian 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 Lithuania finances investments and reforms that are expected to have a deeply transformative effect on Lithuania's economy and society. Here are some of these projects:
- Securing the green transition: €242 million will be allocated to develop offshore and onshore wind and solar power, as well as to create public and private energy storage facilities. €341 million will be invested to phase out the most polluting road transport vehicles and increase the share of renewable energy sources in the transport sector.
- Supporting the digital transition: €73 million will be allocated to develop the rollout of very high capacity networks, including by facilitating the 5G rollout, connecting digitally intensive enterprises and institutions.
- Reinforcing economic and social resilience: €312 million will be invested to consolidate teaching and learning resources, improve preschool, primary and secondary education, vocational education and training, as well as adult learning.
Members of the College said:
President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The first disbursement for Lithuania will kick-start the implementation of a recovery and resilience plan built for success. NextGenerationEU is powering a more sustainable, a more digital and a more resilient future for Lithuania. An ambitious digitalisation plan and reforms in education and research will give a boost to Lithuania's innovation and competitiveness.”
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 Lithuania 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: “I welcome this pre-financing disbursement to Lithuania. The country's recovery and resilience plan will help to reduce greenhouse gas emission across the economy, especially in transport, housing and power generation. Reforms and investments will contribute to more efficient and accessible public services. This will benefit people and businesses alike.” Photo by DAVID HOLT, Wikimedia commons.