The European Union has given Spain permission to use 120 million euros from the corona recovery fund for the modernization of greenhouses for vegetable and plant cultivation. This is being done with money from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), after the EC and the EU ministers approved this part of the Spanish recovery and resilience plan.
This EU support program, which will continue for more than two years, aims according to the European Commission to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of vegetable, flower, and ornamental plant cultivation. Loans as well as grants from the EU fund are paid to the EU countries.
Other EU countries have also by now submitted their RRF recovery plans to Brussels, and some of these plans have already been approved and are being implemented. Each country can make its own choices and set priorities. For example, in some EU countries in Central and Eastern Europe, much RRF money is used for the rollout of high-speed internet in rural areas or for other infrastructure.
The Netherlands is the only EU country that (so far?) has not applied for support from the recovery fund. Brussels has reserved 5.6 billion euros for that purpose. Partly at the urging of the Netherlands, it was determined at the time that countries would not receive the money 'just like that,' but that there should be 'structural improvements' in return. Also, the other countries and ministers must give their permission.
Because the Netherlands (with a well-functioning economy) can borrow money more cheaply than the EU on the capital market, Prime Minister Rutte and Finance Minister Hoekstra preferred not to make use of the RRF fund, as other EU countries would then be able to look over The Hague’s shoulders.
Any EU conditions could have implications for the Dutch mortgage interest deduction and the pension system. It has long been known that the European Commission believes the Netherlands deviates too much from European rules, which Rutte strongly disputes. However, during the budget discussions last month, he promised not to let the money slip away.
Rutte and Hoekstra expect that during the formation of a new cabinet, 'agreements about the pension system and the HPA' will be made, after which a claim can still be made in Brussels on the 5.6 billion euros reserved for the Netherlands.