Greece on Monday received €4 billion, its first tranche of money from an €800 billion EU recovery fund meant to help the bloc bounce back from the impact of the pandemic and at the same time make their economies greener and more digitalised.
The European Commission on Monday disbursed the €4 billion to Greece in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country’s grant and loan allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
Greece is one of the first countries receiving a pre-financing payment under the RRF. The pre-financing will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Greece’s recovery and resilience plan.
The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Greece’s recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €30.5 billion in total over the lifetime of its plan (€17.8 billion in grants and €12.7 billion in loans).
Today’s disbursement follows the recent successful implementation of the first borrowing operations under NextGenerationEU. By the end of the year, the Commission intends to raise up to a total of €80 billion in long-term funding, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills, to fund the first planned disbursements to Member States under NextGenerationEU.
Part of NextGenerationEU, the RRF will provide €723.8 billion to support investments and reforms across Member States. The Greek plan is part of the unprecedented EU response to emerge stronger from the Covid-19 crisis, fostering the green and digital transitions and strengthening resilience and cohesion in our societies.
Greece’s sustainable reforms include financing the interconnection with the Cyclades Islands and increasing the potential for renewable energy sources as well as storage capacity, supporting the digital transition, and strengthening active labour market policies to increase full-time employment, also for long-term unemployed and disadvantaged people.
“I am delighted that today Greece will receive the first disbursement of funds under NextGenerationEU,” said President Ursula von der Leyen. “This is the start of the implementation of Greece’s ambitious recovery and resilience plan, Greece 2.0, and the beginning of a greener and more digital future for the country. The European Commission will stand right by your side, to make this plan a success.”