Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1338640
11.2.2021 5 NEWS European Parliament approves €672.5b Recovery and Resiliency Facility THE European Parliament has ap- proved the Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help EU countries tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pan- demic. e regulation on the objectives, fi- nancing and rules for accessing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was adopted with 582 votes in favour, 40 against and 69 abstentions. e RRF is the biggest building block of the €750 billion Next Generation EU recovery package. €672.5 billion in grants and loans will be available to finance national meas- ures designed to alleviate the economic and social consequences of the pan- demic. Related projects that began on or after 1 February 2020 can be financed by the RRF, too. e funding will be available for three years and EU governments can request up to 13% pre-financing for their recov- ery and resilience plans. To be eligible for financing, national recovery and resilience plans must fo- cus on key EU policy areas – the green transition including biodiversity, digital transformation, economic cohesion and competitiveness, and social and territo- rial cohesion. ose that focus on how institutions react to crisis and supporting them to prepare for it, as well as policies for children and youth, including education and skills, are also eligible for financing. Each plan has to dedicate at least 37% of its budget to climate and at least 20% to digital actions. ey should have a lasting impact in both social and eco- nomic terms, include comprehensive reforms and a robust investment pack- age, and must not significantly harm en- vironmental objectives. e regulation also stipulates that only member states committed to respect- ing the rule of law and the European Union's fundamental values can receive money from the RRF. e European Commission, which is responsible for monitoring the imple- mentation of the RRF, may be asked to appear before Parliament's relevant committees every two months to dis- cuss the state of the EU recovery and how the targets and milestones have been implemented by member states. e Commission will also make an integrated information and monitoring system available to the member states to provide comparable information on how funds are being used.