The Recovery and Resilience Facility has disbursed €450 billion in grants and loans to EU member states since 2021, according to Pierre Moscovici, the French member of the European Court of Auditors. He describes the common borrowing behind the EU Covid recovery fund, known as Next Generation EU and of some €750 billion, as "absolutely a success".

€450 billion disbursed since 2021

Moscovici called the creation of the Covid recovery plan a crucial decision, citing the idea that the EU could borrow together some €750 billion under Next Generation EU. "And this was absolutely a success", he said.

Spain and Italy, he said, massively benefited from this fund and were able to recover swiftly.

Auditors: judge the fund on results

The European Court of Auditors has just presented a report on the health of EU finances that also talks about the implementation of the RRF. Moscovici said the RRF must be evaluated on results, not only disbursements.

"Our main concern and our motto is 'let's go to results'", he said.

The bill ahead: debt for decades

Moscovici set out the financial picture that comes with the borrowing:

• •EU-level debt is projected to reach one thousand billion euros in 2027, he said.
• •The Union still holds a triple A rating, but the repayments will last for decades, he said, and "we must take care of that debt".
• •In France, the debt-to-GDP ratio is 120 percent, meaning debt servicing is over €90 billion a year, he said.

From recovery fund to next long-term budget

Moscovici raised whether common borrowing should become permanent, and whether it should inspire the Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU's long-term budget, which the member states and the Council are now preparing.

He also referenced Mario Draghi, the author of a report on EU competitiveness that he called seminal, and the proposal that the EU needs €1.2 trillion worth of investments in defence and in greening the economy.

Whether the Recovery and Resilience Facility should serve as a model for that spending is among the questions Moscovici raised as the member states and the Council prepare the next long-term budget.