Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus have their recovery plans approved



Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus have their recovery plans approved

BRUSSELS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday formally approved the recovery plans of Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus, raising to 16 the number of EU countries greenlighted for the funding to help them recover from the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All the four member states can now sign agreements so as to get the requested pre-financing from their allocated funds, according to the EU Council, which represents the 27 EU member states.

The recovery plans of the four countries were discussed during an informal videoconference of economic and finance ministers of the bloc on Monday.

"We have to make the best possible use of these funds to recover from the crisis and pave the way to a resilient, greener and more digital Europe," said Slovenia's finance minister Andrej Sircelj, whose country holds the current presidency of the EU Council.

In its plan, Croatia intends to improve water and waste management, a shift to sustainable mobility and financing digital infrastructures in remote rural areas, while Cyprus plans to reform its electricity market and facilitate the deployment of renewable energy, as well as to enhance connectivity and e-government solutions.

An increase in locally produced renewables, the green public procurement measures and further developing the rollout of very high capacity networks are some of the measures that Lithuania has included in its recovery and resilience plan.

Slovenia plans to use a part of the allocated EU fund to invest in sustainable transport, unlock the potential of renewable energy sources and further digitalize its public sector.

Earlier this month, the EU Council approved the first batch of national recovery plans submitted by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.

The bailout money will be allocated from the 672.5 billion-euro Resilience and Recovery Facility, an instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the bloc's historic recovery package. Up to 312.5 billion euros will be available in grants, and up to 360 billion euros in loans.

Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus have their recovery plans approved

Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus have their recovery plans approved

Xinhua
29th July 2021, 15:18 GMT+10

BRUSSELS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday formally approved the recovery plans of Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus, raising to 16 the number of EU countries greenlighted for the funding to help them recover from the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All the four member states can now sign agreements so as to get the requested pre-financing from their allocated funds, according to the EU Council, which represents the 27 EU member states.

The recovery plans of the four countries were discussed during an informal videoconference of economic and finance ministers of the bloc on Monday.

"We have to make the best possible use of these funds to recover from the crisis and pave the way to a resilient, greener and more digital Europe," said Slovenia's finance minister Andrej Sircelj, whose country holds the current presidency of the EU Council.

In its plan, Croatia intends to improve water and waste management, a shift to sustainable mobility and financing digital infrastructures in remote rural areas, while Cyprus plans to reform its electricity market and facilitate the deployment of renewable energy, as well as to enhance connectivity and e-government solutions.

An increase in locally produced renewables, the green public procurement measures and further developing the rollout of very high capacity networks are some of the measures that Lithuania has included in its recovery and resilience plan.

Slovenia plans to use a part of the allocated EU fund to invest in sustainable transport, unlock the potential of renewable energy sources and further digitalize its public sector.

Earlier this month, the EU Council approved the first batch of national recovery plans submitted by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.

The bailout money will be allocated from the 672.5 billion-euro Resilience and Recovery Facility, an instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the bloc's historic recovery package. Up to 312.5 billion euros will be available in grants, and up to 360 billion euros in loans.