EU disburses €2.2 billion in pre-financing to Portugal

The European Commission has disbursed €2.2 billion to Portugal in pre-financing, equivalent to 13 per cent of the grant and loan component of the country’s financial allocation.

Portugal is one of the first countries receiving a pre-financing payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). It will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Portugal’s recovery and resilience plan.

The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Portugal’s recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €16.6 billion in total over the lifetime of its plan, €13.9 billion in grants and €2.7 billion in loans.

The 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.

“Today’s disbursement is a landmark moment in the rollout of Portugal’s recovery and resilience plan – the first NextGenerationEU plan we approved in the EU,” said President Ursula von der Leyen on August 5.

“This plan was designed in Portugal, with the Portuguese people’s best interests at heart. It will make the European Green Deal a reality in the country, digitalise the economy and make it more robust than ever. Now, implementation begins. We will stand by your side each step of the way,” she added.

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