Lithuania, EC sign agreement on EUR 1.55 b in RRF loans, EUR 200 mln in grants

VILNIUS – Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste on Friday signed an agreement with the European Commission on a supplemented Next Generation Lithuania plan, which was approved by the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels in early November, the Finance Ministry said. 

"The new measures will not only strengthen our energy self-sufficiency, but will also contribute to the competitiveness of Lithuanian businesses," the minister said in a press release. 

The plan is supplemented with 1.75 billion euros in new investments from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), including 1 billion euros for loans and other financial instruments to businesses, and an additional 550 million euros for electricity production from renewable energy sources.

A further 198.4 million euros is a grant from the RepowerEU initiative.

After a heated debate, the government on October 30 approved the updated plan agreed with the European Commission, despite Brussels' refusal to postpone the deadlines for Lithuania's tax reform until early 2025.

The receipt of RRF funds is linked to fulfilling the plan's commitments.

The new investments are expected to boost Lithuania's real GDP growth by 0.97 percent on average, or 492.5 million euros per year, between 2023 and 2027.