Brussels urges Portugal to use all PRR funds and speaks of a weight of 3% of GDP in 2026

The European Commission urges Portugal to use the entirety of the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), especially the grants, calling it an “important driver of public investment” with expenses weighing 3% of GDP next year.
“Regarding the RRP, it is obviously an important driver of public investment, including in Portugal, so it is important for us to focus on making the most of this financing and, in particular, the grant component,” said the European Commissioner for Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, in an interview with European media in Brussels, including the Lusa agency.
On the day the community executive presented autumn economic projections, the European official in charge stated that this is why the institution is “working with member states to simplify and make final adjustments to the plans, so that member states can fully focus on implementation and maximize the use of this RRP financing, obviously aiming for full implementation.”
Portugal has been promising to use precisely all the grants from the RRP, but it must do so by August 2026, which is when the program ends.<br“It is worth noting that the RRP expires next year [and then] the EU structural funds and the cohesion fund will play a more important role in supporting public investment in member states, including Portugal, so we hope that this financing will also accelerate in Portugal,” he appealed.
Data released by Valdis Dombrovskis, in response to Lusa, reveals that, in quantitative terms, “expenses financed under the RRP are expected to reach about 2% of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] this year and 3% next year” in Portugal.
“Regarding structural funds [such as cohesion], their importance is increasing, especially from 2027, when it is expected to reach 0.9% of GDP,” added the official.
In its autumn forecasts, released today, the community executive points out that “the trajectories of budgetary policies in the EU reflect increasing spending needs in defense, but are accompanied by internal political uncertainties in some member states.”
“Moreover, the approaching end of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism [which finances the RRP], in August 2026, poses challenges to member states regarding the acceleration of the effective execution of their plans and the increased use of cohesion funds in 2027, especially in countries where investment heavily depends on EU support.”
In total, the Portuguese RRP is valued at 22.2 billion euros, with 16.3 billion euros in grants and 5.9 billion euros in loans from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
This represents 8.29% of the Portuguese GDP and corresponds to 349 investments and 89 reforms.
Portugal is, therefore, among the countries expected to register the largest gains in terms of GDP.
Currently, the country has already received 9.34 billion euros in grants and 3.39 billion euros in loans, and the execution rate of the plan is 40%.
The Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, which finances the RRP, was created to address the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and came into effect in 2021, with a total of 800 billion euros (at current prices). This involves 650 billion euros at 2021 prices.