Closure of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is set by a fixed deadline determined at European level, by which all milestones and targets must be met and measures completed. Unlike operational programmes, where a rule allowing further drawdown in subsequent years applies, here there is no extension – whatever is not achieved in time is lost. This feature determines the whole logic of management: schedules are tight, project changes are approved reluctantly, and providers push for earlier completion in order to have a buffer. For the recipient, this results in a clear priority – meeting the deadline takes precedence over expanding the scope. When a measure is at risk, part of it is shifted to other sources of financing, which, however, means new contractual conditions and generally also a different scope of eligible expenditure.
See also: N+3 rule, Project change, Eligible expenditure period.
