MNI BRIEF: EU Gentiloni: FinMins Looking At More Flexible NGEU

EU finance ministers will look at ways of making implementation of its post-Covid recovery instrument NGEU easier and more flexible when they meet later this week, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said Tuesday, noting the issue will be discussed at Friday’s ECOFIN Council in Luxembourg."

Noting criticism that NGEU implementation and disbursements have been slow to date, with widespread problems of 'absorption' in some big recipient states, the commissioner said the pace of disbursements would speed up this year.

The 2026 deadline remains firm, Gentiloni said, so it would be crucial that states maintain the momentum of implementation and accelerate where they can. (see MNI: Italian Push For NGEU Extension Hits Resistance-Officials)