The European Commission has given €289 million to Lithuania in pre-financing to kick-start investment and reform measures in the country as part of a major EU pandemic recovery plan.
The European Commission disbersed the money on 17^th August, equivalent to 13% of the country’s financial allocation under the Recovery Resilience Facility (RRF) and as part of NextGenerationEU, which will eventually provide €723.8 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across Member States.
“After three very successful bond issuances under NextGenerationEU over the past few weeks, and the first payments for other NGEU programmes, I am glad that we have now also reached the disbursement stage for the RRF,” said Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration. “Intense cooperation with Lithuania and solid preparation within the Commission allowed us to pay out the funds in record time. This shows that with the resources raised, we will be able to swiftly deliver on the pre-financing needs of all Member States, thus giving them the initial boost in implementing the numerous green and digital projects included in their national plans.”
The RRF in Lithuania will finance projects that include €242 million to develop offshore and onshore wind and solar power, as well as to create public and private energy storage facilities. €341 million will be invested to phase out the most polluting road transport vehicles and increase the share of renewable energy sources in the transport sector.
€73 million will be allocated to develop the rollout of very high capacity networks, including by facilitating the 5G rollout, connecting digitally intensive enterprises and institutions.
€312 million will be invested to consolidate teaching and learning resources, improve preschool, primary and secondary education, vocational education and training, as well as adult learning.
“The first disbursement for Lithuania will kick-start the implementation of a recovery and resilience plan built for success,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “NextGenerationEU is powering a more sustainable, a more digital and a more resilient future for Lithuania. An ambitious digitalisation plan and reforms in education and research will give a boost to Lithuania’s innovation and competitiveness.”
The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Lithuania’s recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €2.22 billion in total, fully consisting of grants, over the lifetime of its plan.
 
 
 
Photo source: European Commission