Portugal, Luxembourg and Belgium have received the first instalments from the European Union's COVID-19 recovery fund, positioning them to be among the first to get back on their feet post-pandemic.   

All countries that have had recovery plans approved by the European Commission are eligible to receive a pre-finance payout of 13 percent of the total they requested. 

Portugal received $2.6 billion, Belgium $915 million and Luxembourg $14.3 million. 

"The pre-financing will help to implement the essential investment and reform measures described in the national plans for recovery and resilience," the Commission said in a statement.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the money will help make the countries green and digital. 

"Belgium is already an innovation front-runner and #NextGenerationEU will give it the resources needed to go fully green and digital," she said in a tweet when the news was announced.  

Sixteen member states have received the final sign-off from the European Council, which reviews a plan after the Commission approves it.   

Another deadline lapses for Poland

But one country still waiting in the wings is Poland. It submitted its plan to the Commission for approval on May 3, requesting $42.5 billion in recovery funds but the assessment is still under way.

"These exchanges are entirely normal and expected part of the assessment procedure," Commission Spokesperson Arianna Podesta said during a press briefing on Tuesday. "It is in our mutual interest to arrive at a point when the Commission has all necessary information at its disposal to actually conclude the assessment."

While the Commission hinted there was missing information and questions that still needed to be answered, Warsaw blamed the delay on Brussels running on a skeleton crew during the summer months.

The delay comes as the EU and Warsaw remain at loggerheads over several issues, including the independence of Poland's judiciary, anti-LGBT+ sentiment and the rollback of abortion rights.  

Last month, the Commission launched legal action against Poland and Hungary over measures it said discriminated against LGBT+ people. 

And earlier this year, the European Parliament approved new regulation tying EU funding to rule of law, setting up a potential battleground going forward as funds are frozen for backsliding on democracy.