1. Scope

The purpose of these guidelines is to serve together with this Regulation as a basis for the Commission to assess - in a transparent and equitable manner - the recovery and resilience plans proposed by Member States and to determine the financial contribution in conformity with the objectives and any other relevant requirements laid down in this Regulation. These guidelines represent the basis for the application of the assessment criteria and the determination of the financial contribution as referred to, respectively, in Articles 19(3) and 20(4).

The assessment guidelines are designed to:

(a) give further guidance on the assessment process of the proposals for recovery and resilience plans submitted by Member States;

(b) provide further details on the assessment criteria and provide for a rating system to be established with a view to ensuring an equitable and transparent process; and

(c) define the link between the assessment to be made by the Commission under the assessment criteria and the determination of the financial contribution to be set out in the Commission proposal for a Council decision in relation to the recovery and resilience plans.