Lisbon, Aug. 31, 2026 (Lusa) - The deadline for Portugal to implement the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) expires on Monday, the day on which, according to the government, 100% of the milestones and targets agreed with the European Commission will have been met.
On Friday, in a briefing to journalists on the implementation of the RRP, the minister for the economy, Manuel Castro Almeida, explained that «Portugal has fully implemented its RRP», with «all 44 reforms now fully completed», enabling the country to secure the more than €16 billion in grants allocated to Portugal (non-repayable funds).
The loan component, which amounts to around €5.5 billion, has also been fully implemented, «barring any unforeseen circumstances», said the minister responsible for the economy.
Castro Almeida said that, to ensure the plan was fully implemented, investments amounting to 101% of the target had been contracted, to allow for any delays, a situation he said justified the works still to be completed, which he described as «investments exceeding the targets».
Launched in 2021 to address the economic shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the RRP was the national plan to implement a series of reforms and investments funded by the European Union's NextGenerationEU.
With a budget of around €22.2 billion, the national plan comprises 44 reforms and 117 investment projects.
The initial plan was submitted to the European Commission by António Costa's PS government on 22 April 2021 and approved by the European executive on 16 June of that year.
In the meantime, the Socialist Government updated it once in 2023, and the PSD and CDS-PP government led by Luís Montenegro updated it again in February 2025.
In this second update, the government reallocated €1.463 billion, 60% of which it directed towards strengthening the health, business and science sectors.
On 31 October 2025, the current government submitted a proposal to the European Commission to revise the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) to simplify it.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, the minister for the economy said that when the government took office, implementation stood at less than 20% of the RRP, emphasising that the remaining 80% had been implemented in half the time.
In an interview with Lusa, published on Thursday, the chairman of the National Committee for Monitoring the RRP, Pedro Dominguinhos, noted that some works will continue even after August – a situation that will occur, for example, in schools, health centres and student halls of residence.
Pedro Dominguinhos also noted that Portugal must prepare for the post-plan period, highlighting that the State Budget will face additional pressure, as some projects still require public funding.
PCT/ADB // ADB.
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