Brussels – The European Commission (EC) has received from the Czech Republic a third payment request for 1.9 billion euros (47.8 billion CZK) from the so-called Recovery and Resilience Facility. The amount already deducts the preliminary financing of projects, which the EC will reimburse retroactively. The third payment mainly concerns projects in energy, environment, or transport infrastructure, stated the EC today in its daily information briefing. The Czech Republic is to receive 9.2 billion euros (231.3 billion CZK) from the facility for projects under the National Recovery Plan of the Czech Republic.
From the 1.9 billion euros, if the request is approved, the Czech Republic will receive 190 million euros through loans and 1.7 billion euros through non-refundable grants. The Commission will now assess the request and subsequently send it to the Economic and Financial Committee of the EU Council.
Among the covered projects, the request included the introduction of a simplified permitting process for renewable energy sources. “It also includes a unified environmental opinion that will replace up to 26 administrative acts required for building permits, which were previously required and issued by various authorities,” stated the EC. The payment would also fund the creation of a national retraining database, the strengthening of national legislation on waste management, or the introduction of legislative protection of whistleblowers. The request also includes funding for the digitization and electrification of railway infrastructure, as well as the reconstruction of stations and railway bridges.
The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility was established as part of extraordinary support in response to the global pandemics, the so-called European Recovery and Resilience Plan NextGeneration EU (NextGenEU). The Czech Republic finances the implementation of the National Recovery Plan of the Czech Republic from these funds. So far, the Czech Republic has received 2.69 billion euros (67.6 billion CZK) in grants. In total, it is entitled to 8.4 billion euros in grants and 818 million euros through loans. (September 16)