Lisbon, April 6, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's recovery task force warned that member states are on different implementation tracks, making a ranking difficult, but the country is at the forefront with eight payment requests.
"There is no homogeneous characteristic here to say we are on the same track," Mission Structure President Fernando Alfaiate told Lusa on Monday. "Implementing Portugal’s RRP (Recovery and Resilience Plan) differs from Luxembourg’s or countries without a €1 billion allocation.
The nation’s RRP has an allocation of €22 billion.
The Mission Structure, which monitors RRP implementation, said Portugal belongs to the top-performing group alongside Spain, Italy, Greece and Germany.
Considering all member states, only Portugal and Italy received the eight payment requests submitted.
However, this ranking could change quickly as states submit requests.
"Spain or another member state may submit two or three combined payment requests," Alfaiate said. "I do not know how they will reach their goals."
Countries like Hungary appear at the bottom of the table and only received the initial advance for political reasons. With just over four months left, Hungary lacks time to implement the plan.
"We must always look at others. It is not exactly a challenge, but we must know where others stand, considering these different characteristics, although a group of three or four member states is more homogeneous," he said.
Alfaiate said the RRP in Portugal would be fully implemented without losing funding, despite concerns about social security and housing investments.
The Mission Structure president said no high-level talks had taken place regarding the future of Recover Portugal (the body managing EU recovery funds) after the plan ends. He declined to provide further details. He said the team was dedicated to the plan's success and "responsibilities would not be lacking".
Alfaiate said the Mission Structure wanted to communicate the plan’s impact once milestones and targets were on track.
"Someone recently said the RRP failed because it did not build the new airport, but the airport was never in the plan," he said to illustrate public misconceptions.
The body aims to showcase the history of investments in health, housing, social facilities, companies and culture through its website, radio and television.
The RRP implements reforms and investments to recover economic growth.
Besides repairing damage from Covid-19, the plan supports investment and job creation.
PE/LYT // ADB.
Lusa
