The National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) would be more efficient and effective if civil society organisations were involved more quickly and more extensively.
This is the key message of the Resolution on the Involvement of Organised Civil Society in the National Recovery and Resilience Plans – What works and what does not?, which was adopted at the EESC February plenary session and presented during a debate with Christa Schweng, EESC president and Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for budget and administration.
Commenting on the result, Ms Schweng said: "This resolution analysing a wide variety of economic and societal aspects allows us to send a strong signal that the involvement of organised civil society is key. The recovery plans need to deliver to really support the recovery from the current crisis and a fair and just green and digital transition. As a second step, once the funds are operational, EESC members are very well placed to assess whether the money is being spent in an effective way and is reaching businesses, workers and civil society organisations in need."
For his part, Mr Hahn said that rules were in place and that the Commission would keep calling for stakeholder involvement in these reform processes: "The Recovery and Resilience Facility regulation encourages broad consultations, strong interactions and communication with local and regional authorities at all stages of implementation. This will generate real ownership of the plans, facilitating their successful implementation. More specifically, Member States need to tell us how your input as civil society representatives is reflected in the plans."
The Resolution was drafted by EESC members Gonçalo Lobo Xavier (Employers' Group), Javier Doz Orrit (Workers' Group) and Luca Jahier (Diversity Europe Group). They coordinated the work of 27 delegations, each with three members, which are monitoring the involvement of organised civil society in the drafting, implementation and assessment of the NRRPs. (mp, na)