REPowerEU: Next Generation EU's Architecture Beyond the Pandemic

The unlawful Russian invasion of Ukraine had direct and indirect consequences on the EU energy independence and the implementation of the Recovery Plan (NGEU). To tackle the effects of the energy crisis and its potential impact on the EU economic recovery, the Commission proposed a REPowerEU plan that amends NGEU to make it fit with the current urgencies. This paper presents a legal analysis of REPowerEU, which is the first example of NGEU’s architecture beyond the pandemic. This analysis shows that although conceived as a one-off tool, its legal structure can be replicated. Moreover, this paper reflects on three preliminary findings. First, the adoption of REPowerEU continues the path toward the transfer of fiscal powers to the EU. Second, REPowerEU resources to be distributed in the form of non-repayable support will be placed outside the European budget. Third, to re-channel EU funds to the current needs, REPowerEU introduces an element of flexibility in the use of cohesion funds.