European Commission approves Latvia’s request for €503.7 million — LSM English

In Latvia, the European Commission has given a positive assessment of the fifth and final request for a payment of €503.7 million from the EU Recovery Fund. Once the remaining approval procedures are completed, the funds are expected to reach the state budget by the end of the year, LSM English reports.

Final Recovery Fund payment

The European Commission determined that Latvia had properly fulfilled 25 milestones and 31 targets required for the final payment. After receiving the funds, the country will have drawn all €1.97 billion available to it under the Recovery Fund.

Latvia’s Ministry of Finance submitted the last and largest of the five payment requests to the European Commission on September 30. Before that, the state budget had already received nearly €1.5 billion, or 75% of the total allocated funding.

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Infrastructure projects

Under the plan, 100 kilometres of the electrified railway network were modernized and developed, including on the Riga—Zemitāni, Riga—Sloka and Zasulauks—Bolderāja sections. In the Riga agglomeration, 17 electric buses were purchased, seven charging stations were built, eight mobility points were created, and 52 kilometres of cycling infrastructure were improved.

Emergency management centres were also completed in nine cities, while 22 facilities of the state drainage system were repaired or reconstructed to strengthen flood protection. In the energy sector, electricity transmission and distribution networks were modernized, including the installation of 230 kilometres of cable lines. The Recovery Fund is part of the EU’s NextGenerationEU economic recovery plan, created after the Covid-19 pandemic.