At its meeting, the ECOFIN Council adopted the implementing decisions for the first group of countries that were assessed positively by the European Commission up to 1 July. The recovery and resilience plans of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain were approved. The approval of these plans enables EU Member States to sign grant and loan agreements, which will allow them to obtain up to 13% pre-financing payment. The funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility will accelerate and strengthen the recovery process in EU Member States.

"Today’s approval of the 12 national plans is of paramount importance for economic recovery of individual member states and the European Union as a whole. The start of disbursements will mark the start of the implementation of the plans. EU Member States will be able to set in motion the investments and reforms that will help their economies recover and grow stronger. These funds are aimed at helping us all recover from the crisis, but we also need to channel them towards new goals – increasing resilience, greening and digitalisation. Furthermore, we need to focus on boosting innovation and competitiveness to ensure a better Europe for future generations," said Minister Šircelj after the meeting.