Lisbon, April 6, 2026 (Lusa) – The head of the mission structure for Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP, EU-funded post-pandemic investment programme) said he hopes the plan won't require further revisions, while remaining alert to the impacts of the Middle East war.
"Ideally, for us, this would be the last [revision]. Based on the data I have, it wouldn’t need another one, but the world moves every day, and there are many unpredictable circumstances," the head of Recover Portugal (the body managing EU recovery funds), Fernando Alfaiate, told Lusa in an interview.
Portugal submitted an RRP revision to Brussels last Tuesday involving the reallocation of €516 million.
Projects like the Braga surface metro and the one-stop shop for renewable energy licensing were excluded because execution is impossible by late August.
Storms in January and February forced adjustments to education, housing, and health infrastructure investments.
The government revised the RRP schedule, advancing some targets and delaying others, resulting in €516 million in adjustments between the ninth and tenth payment requests.
However, when asked about the potential impact of the Middle East conflict on the plan, he said he hoped this would not happen, but the mission structure was watching for consequences.
The head of the mission structure noted the conflict is recent but warned that the most serious impacts should involve inflation and supply chain disruptions.
On the other hand, he said this was not a new situation for the RRP, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine previously impacted it.
He added that the RRP is reaching the "end of the line" and there may no longer be time for the conflict to impact what is ordered or under construction.
Alfaiate warned that the European Commission recommends not submitting deep revisions after the end of May, as Brussels may not be able to respond to requests in time.
Still, Brussels may accept minor adjustments.
"We are monitoring these circumstances and hope this does not lead us to have to review anything again," he said.
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
