The European Commission announced today that it adopts a “positive preliminary assessment” for the second payment request submitted by Greece, amounting to €3.64 billion (€1.69 billion in grants and €1.95 billion in loans), in framework of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

It is recalled that on 16 May 2023, Greece submitted to the Commission a payment request for grants (€1.69 billion), based on the achievement of 39 milestones and three objectives selected in the Council’s implementing decision for the third tranche of grants. On 22 November 2023, Greece also submitted a payment request for loans (€1.95 billion) related to the achievement of a target.

The milestones include a series of reforms to enhance efficiency in public administration, including through the establishment of a multi-level governance system that will streamline the distribution of responsibilities between central, regional and local authorities, and strengthen the fight against corruption and smuggling. There are further reforms to address weaknesses in urban planning, to promote upskilling for workers and the unemployed, to create a regulatory authority that will enable a more rational and efficient waste management system and a more sustainable water management resources, establishing fair and transparent procurement for public urban and regional passenger transport services and improving the regulatory framework for industrial parks.

The single target covered by the loan payment request called for at least €3.5 billion in RRF loans to be signed between financial institutions and companies to support private investments related to the green transition, digitalisation, increasing export capacity, economies of scale and innovation.

These requests cover investments in the fields of electrification and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the initiation of projects related to renovations to enhance energy efficiency in residential buildings, the digitization of public administration and the adoption of fiber optic infrastructure in buildings.

“With their request, the Greek authorities provided detailed and comprehensive data demonstrating the fulfillment of the 43 milestones and objectives,” the Commission emphasizes, noting that it thoroughly evaluated this information before submitting the positive preliminary assessment of the payment request.

The Greek recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures in four thematic components. The revised Greek recovery plan, once approved by the Council, will amount to €35.95 billion, with €18.22 billion in Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grants and €17.73 billion in RRF loans.

Next steps:

The Commission has now sent the positive preliminary assessment of Greece’s fulfillment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The EFC’s opinion, which will be issued within four weeks at the most, will have to be taken into account in the Commission’s assessment, which will then issue the final decision on the disbursement to Greece.

The Commission will assess further payment requests from Greece based on the achievement of the milestones and targets outlined in the Council’s implementing decision, reflecting progress in the implementation of investments and reforms.

Payments under the RRF are performance-based and dependent on Member States implementing the investments and reforms outlined in their respective recovery and resilience plans.