On 1 July 2026, The Left group in the European Parliament tabled an amendment to the annual report on the financial activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, calling on the European Commission to extend the implementation period of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) until 31 August 2028. The amendment, proposed by MEP João Oliveira, targets paragraph 8 of rapporteur Joachim Streit's report (A10-0170/2026) and shifts the focus from the EIB managing the tail-end of RRF projects to the Commission ensuring that the full amount of RRF funding can be used.
The amendment redirects the original text's call on the EIB to support continuity of RRF projects, instead demanding that the Commission present a legislative proposal to extend the RRF's implementation period. The EIB's role is downgraded to a secondary, conditional one, to be activated only if necessary. The Left's proposal introduces a hard deadline of 31 August 2028, a concrete political demand aimed at preventing any loss of allocated funds due to the current cut-off date. This contrasts with the original text's more general goal of safeguarding the RRF's objectives.
The amendment is part of a broader debate on the EIB's role in EU recovery efforts. The underlying report, drafted by Streit, covers the EIB Group's activities in 2025 and is scheduled for a plenary vote later this year. The Left's proposal, if adopted, would represent a significant policy shift, placing the onus on the Commission to extend the RRF's legal framework rather than relying on the EIB's operational flexibility. The amendment is currently under consideration by the Parliament's committees and will be subject to further debate before the final plenary vote.