France secures extra €2.8 billion from Commission to finance energy transition

The European Commission approved France’s reviewed Recovery and Resilience Plan on Monday, which includes an extra €2.8 billion from the REPowerEU plan to help finance France’s thermal renovation of ailing buildings.

The new subsidy brings France’s total from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to €40.3 billion from an initial €37.5 billion.

The RFF is a financial tool the Commission uses to reroute money from a round of common debt contracted in 2021 – better known as NextGenerationEU (NGEU) – to all member states. The funds are conditional on countries investing in green and new technology investments.

In 2021, France, therefore, secured €37.5 billion from the Commission to support large-scale public investment for the “renovation of private housing, the promotion and professional integration of young people […] and to invest in green transport infrastructures”, official documents from the Economy Ministry read.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the creation of the REPowerEU plan to reduce the EU’s dependency on Russian energy, France was eligible for an extra €2.8 billion to support its energy transition – a request made by the government in April and approved on Monday.

Most of the new cash will be spent on financing a new subsidy tool created by the government to help homeowners make green renovations.

The matter is of utmost urgency and a number one priority to the government, as it is reckoned, France has over five million ailing buildings that house over 12 million people.

Part of the cash will also go towards developing an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for the development of hydrogen-induced cars and batteries.

The total €40.3 billion goes towards a French €100-billion investment plan dubbed ‘France Relance’, which focuses on the green transition, competitiveness and cohesion.

cover photo:The new subsidy brings France’s total from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to €40.3 billion from an initial €37.5 billion. [Shutterstock/esfera]