The European Commission has once again shown one of its most powerful tools: the ability to move money quickly when political momentum is needed. This month it disbursed a combined €5.85 billion to Germany and Slovakia under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, underscoring that the post-pandemic funding machine is still very much alive.
On paper, the message is simple: Europe is investing in reform, digitalisation and economic resilience. In practice, the recovery story is less tidy. Some member states have used EU funds to accelerate infrastructure and modernization, while others remain caught in slower administrative delivery, labour shortages and weak private investment.
Germany's role is especially important. As the bloc's largest economy, it is expected not just to absorb funds efficiently but to provide momentum for the wider euro area. Yet Germany's own economic model is under pressure from high energy costs, export uncertainty and a sluggish industrial base, making the recovery funds only one part of a much bigger adjustment.
For smaller economies such as Slovakia, the facility remains crucial both financially and politically. It offers a way to support growth, but it also exposes a broader challenge for the EU: cohesion policy and recovery money can buy time, not automatically deliver transformation. If reforms lag, the funds risk becoming a bridge to nowhere.
The Commission wants this to be remembered as the moment Europe invested its way out of crisis. But the harder truth is that money alone cannot restore confidence in the European economy. That will depend on whether the bloc can combine investment, productivity gains and political clarity — three things Brussels often promises, and only sometimes delivers.
