Positive Assessment of the Dutch Recovery and Resilience Plan

To receive the reserved funds from the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Netherlands has made agreements on milestones and objectives to be achieved. These are part of the Dutch Recovery and Resilience Plan. The funds from this plan are intended to contribute to improvements in areas such as digitalization, innovation, and the energy transition. For the third payment request, IT infrastructure and cybersecurity at the Ministry of Defence have been strengthened in the field of digitalization. Additionally, innovation has been promoted, including investments in the quantum sector, such as a facility for start-ups, research grants, and a new lab, as well as the provision of thirteen grants for appointing young researchers in artificial intelligence.

To promote the energy transition, steps have been taken to make aviation more sustainable, and as of January 2026, the Energy Act came into effect, which provides companies, households, and grid operators with more opportunities to use energy flexibly and better utilize grid capacity. Administrative agreements have also been made between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and involved regions regarding the development of offshore wind energy. Finally, measures have been taken to combat money laundering, including the ban on cash payments over €3,000 for goods, which came into effect on January 1, 2026.

The positive assessment by the Commission is followed by a concluding procedure in which all EU member states may comment on the European Commissions judgment or ask questions to the Netherlands. After this third payment request, the Netherlands intends to submit two more payment requests in 2026 to claim the remainder of the €5.4 billion reserved for the Netherlands from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.