As reported by ECO, the Portuguese Government formally lodged the latest revision request with Brussels on Tuesday, 21 July. The changes are understood to have been encouraged by the European Commission to help ensure Portugal can meet the plan’s targets and avoid having to repay European funding linked to projects that risk missing agreed milestones.

This submission has also been recorded on the European Commission’s online portal dedicated to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU’s flagship post-pandemic investment programme.

Redirected investment

The Recovery and Resilience Plan has undergone a series of revisions since its launch to reflect changing implementation timelines, inflationary pressures, and the need to redirect investment towards projects considered more likely to be completed within the programme’s strict deadlines.

In May 2023, the most significant overhaul was the increase in Portugal’s allocation from €16.6 billion to €22.2 billion, resulting from a recalculation of EU grants, additional funding through the REPowerEU initiative, and Portugal’s decision to make greater use of the loan component available under the facility.

The augmentation also substantially increased Portugal’s commitments, raising the number of agreed reforms, milestones and investment targets from 341 to 501, one of the largest sets of obligations among European Union member states participating in the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

According to ECO, several major infrastructure projects have since been removed from the RRP because of concerns they could not be completed before the EU’s funding deadline. These include the expansion of Lisbon Metro’s Red and Violet lines, the new Todos-os-Santos Hospital in Lisbon, the Pomarão water intake, the Algarve desalination plant, and the Crato dam.

The Portuguese Government has maintained that these projects will still go ahead using alternative funding sources, such as the Portugal 2030 programme, the State Budget and financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This legislation has already been approved to facilitate the transfer of projects between funding mechanisms and prevent any risk of double financing.

As reported by Expresso, Portugal has accelerated efforts over the past year to maximise the absorption of European funds before the Recovery and Resilience Facility concludes in 2026. The Government has repeatedly stated that revising the plan is intended to safeguard investment rather than reduce it, allowing projects facing delays to continue under other EU or national funding programmes.

Reform projects

Portugal has already received several instalments from Brussels after successfully meeting successive reform and investment milestones.

In May 2026, the country submitted its ninth payment request, worth approximately €2.3 billion, following the approval of the previous revision to the plan.

Furthermore, Portugal has also benefited from the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), through which the European Commission has supported 116 reform projects covering public administration, healthcare, education, financial literacy, public spending and digital transformation. According to the Commission, digitalisation has remained one of the principal priorities for both the public and private sectors.

The latest revision request will now be assessed by the European Commission, which must determine whether the proposed changes remain consistent with the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Facility before giving its approval.