News item | 04-02-2026 | 15:09
On February 4, 2026, the European Commission positively assessed the 3rd payment request of the Dutch Recovery and Resilience Plan. The positive assessment is an important step towards official approval of the payment request and the disbursement of the associated amount of €551 million from the European Recovery and Resilience Facility. This facility was established during the corona crisis and helps Member States to recover and increase the resilience of their economies. The 1st and 2nd payment requests, worth a combined €2.5 billion, have already been approved by the European Commission and paid to the Netherlands.
Milestones and objectives
In order to receive the reserved money from the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Netherlands has made agreements about milestones and objectives to be achieved. These are part of the Dutch Recovery and Resilience Plan. The money from this plan is intended to contribute to improvements in the areas of digitalization, innovation and the energy transition. For the 3rd payment request, the IT infrastructure and cybersecurity at the Ministry of Defense have been strengthened in the field of digitalization. In addition, we have focused on innovation, including through investments in the quantum sector, namely a facility for start-ups, research grants and a new lab, and by providing thirteen grants for the appointment of young researchers in artificial intelligence.
To promote the energy transition, steps have been taken to make aviation more sustainable and the Energy Act came into effect in January 2026, which, among other things, offers companies, households and grid operators more options to use energy flexibly and make better use of grid capacity. Administrative agreements have also been made between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the regions involved regarding the development of offshore wind energy. Finally, measures have been taken to combat money laundering, including the ban on cash payments above €3,000 for goods, which came into effect on January 1, 2026.
Follow-up
The Commission’s positive assessment will be followed by a final procedure, in which all EU member states may comment on the European Commission’s assessment or ask questions to the Netherlands. After this 3rd payment request, the Netherlands intends to submit 2 more payment requests in 2026 to claim the remainder of the €5.4 billion reserved for the Netherlands from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
