The European Commission (EC) has positively evaluated the Netherlands’ fourth payment request for $768m (€661m) in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), a key component of the EU’s NextGenerationEU programme.
The EC concluded that the Netherlands met all nine milestones and 15 targets required for this phase, following the evaluation process linked to reforms and investments in areas including energy efficiency, education and innovation.
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In its assessment, the EC highlighted several measures supported by this payment. These include investments directed at offshore wind generation and energy-saving upgrades for more than 820,000 homes in the Netherlands.
Other initiatives include backing research and demonstration projects for green hydrogen.
This funding is also tied to tax and economic changes such as actions to close tax loopholes and further the shift towards a new pension system.
The next stage involves the Commission sending its preliminary assessment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which will deliver its opinion in four weeks.
The actual transfer of funds can occur after the EFC’s opinion and the formal adoption of a payment decision by the EC. This fourth payment request was submitted by the Netherlands on 2 July 2026.
The country’s broader recovery and resilience plan is supported by €5.44bn in total grants. It covers measures promoting clean energy, digitalisation in education and public administration, among others.
If approved, the new payment will bring total disbursements to €3.73bn, or 68.6% of the Netherlands’ allocation under the RRF.
According to the EC, with this payment, 81.1% of the milestones and targets set out in the Dutch national plan will have been fulfilled.
Member States are required to submit their final RRF payment requests by the end of September 2026.
In July 2026, the EC launched an in-depth investigation into the previously announced merger involving offshore engineering and construction companies Saipem and Subsea 7.
