The European Commission has today ensured that the REPowerEU contributes to developing renewable energy projects, which would be delayed or unfulfilled, in response to the audit of the European Court of Auditors, which has been released today, pointing out flaws in the programme.
© Lusa
09/09/2026
by
Lusa
Nits response, according to a spokesperson from the Community executive, the Commission points out that the funding provided by the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM) for investment in clean energy has contributed “to achieving the most ambitious targets in the field of renewable energy and to improving cross-border connectivity”.
For Brussels, “since the entry into force of the REPowerEU Amendment Regulation in February 2023, all Member States have integrated ‘REPowerEU chapters’ dedicated to their Recovery and Resilience Plans, mobilizing around EUR 57.6 billion”.
The European Commission argues that the MRR, through the REPowerEU chapters, “has since played a key role in accelerating the implementation of the priorities of the energy programme and assures the auditors that it will “follow the recommendations”, continuing to ensure the implementation of the plan.
As regards gas, Brussels reiterates the legally binding ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, which will lead to a complete elimination of Russian imports on 1 January 2027 and Russian gas pipeline in September 2027.
In today's audit, the ECA points out that the REPowerEU measures have reduced Russia's European dependence on fossil fuels but have contributed little to the development of clean energy.
The TEC considers that only three Member States – Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal – have established clear links to all measures in the REPowerEU chapters of the MRR in their national plans.
Overall, only 35% of the MRR measures in the REPowerEU chapters are referred to in the final versions of the national energy and climate plans.
The REPowerEU plan introduced EU sanctions that led to the ban on imports of fossil fuels from Russia, with the exception of natural gas, and led to a drastic decrease in oil and gas imports, albeit to a lesser extent.
However, the ECA mentions that important challenges persist, as a quantity of Russian oil has continued to arrive to the EU indirectly through third countries, and some Member States continue to import considerable quantities of natural gas.
Of the EUR 300 billion (ME) available for the REPowerEU, only 18% of this amount had been made available by April, with an amount of 54.3 thousand ME, and the audit found that there were not enough investments to accelerate the change to clean energy and strengthen the link between countries.