MEPs on the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Budget
committees are concerned about whether recovery funding is reaching
citizens to its full potential.
The late evening discussion on Monday with Commissioners Dombrovskis and Gentiloni focused on how the Recovery and Resilience Facility
(RRF) could contribute to increasing the EU’s strategic autonomy by
diversifying energy imports as well as boosting renewables and
energy-saving measures for transport, industry and private households.
MEPs quizzed the Commissioners about the rollout of REPowerEU.
Member states will have to add a re-power chapter to their national
plans, so that they do not interfere with the implementation of already
ongoing reforms and investments but improve energy infrastructure to
have a secure supply of oil and gas.
As REPowerEU only covers investments and
cannot cover recurring social transfers, MEPs called for more support
for households, for energy-efficiency projects and for more cross-border
projects, such as improving the interconnection of European gas and
electricity energy networks.
Some speakers voiced concerns regarding
the Commission’s proposal of targeted adjustment of gas and oil grids to
move away from Russian fossil fuels while keeping heating and energy
systems working as some countries were wholly dependent on Russia. This
infrastructure does not comply with the “do not significant harm”
principle, but Commissioner Dombrovskis confirmed that the measures are
restrictive and temporary.
MEPs asked about adjustments to national
plans due to inflation and updated grant allocation for member states,
dependent on their economic situation, which will mean some of them get
more money while other allocations will be downgraded. The Commissioners
stressed that the aim is to keep a national plan on track, with
targeted revisions to counter volatility or inflation. Member states can
also amend their plans in order to take RRF loans (225 billion euro in unused loans are available until August 2023).
Finally, MEPs on the Economic and
Monetary Affairs and Budget committees pledged to work on Parliament’s
changes to the Commission’s targeted amendment to the RRF regulation to
allow member states to commit to additional energy investments, with a
view to reaching an agreement by the end of this year.
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