EU intends to approve member states' recovery plans by summer: official

The European Commission intended to approve the European Union's (EU) member states' recovery and resilience plans by summer and then begin to disburse funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility accordingly, the commission's executive vice-president responsible for economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday.

The facility, the bulk of the EUR750-billion (US$898-billion) recovery fund, will provide EUR312.5 billion in grants and up to EUR360 billion in loans.

Dombrovskis said that with the approaching deadline of April 30 for the submittal of such plans, there were some countries that seemed more prepared than others. He, however, expressed conviction that the deadline will be met.

"Some Member States are nearly there and submitting their plans by the end of April is achievable. For others, this looks more difficult. Finalisation will require somewhat more work for a couple more weeks," he told a press conference following a virtual meeting by the EU's finance ministers.

He said the commission's executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager, responsible for competition, updated ministers on how the EU rules are supporting the economy in the context of the pandemic and recovery.