At today’s ECOFIN meeting, in which Greece was represented by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis, executive decisions were approved for amendments to the Recovery Fund of Greece, Finland, Germany, Poland and Cyprus.

Regarding the implementation of the Recovery Fund, it was recorded that Greece has already collected 14.9 billion euros (7.6 billion subsidies and 7.3 billion loans), consistently occupying one of the first positions in the EU in terms of absorption. Also in the coming months, the disbursement by the EU of 3.3 billion euros of the 4th payment request (998.6 million euros in subsidies and 2.3 billion in loans) is expected.

Therefore, the total liquidity from the resources of the Recovery Fund will amount to 18.2 billion euros, more than half of the total available budget.

In the context of ECOFIN, the Country Specific Recommendations and conclusions regarding the In Depth Reviews of 2024, carried out in the context of the European Semester, were also approved. It is worth mentioning that based on the latest spring forecasts of the European Commission, public debt in the EU is still almost 4 percentage points above its pre-pandemic level (from 77.8 in 2019 to 81.7 in 2023), while in Greece it has decrease from 180.6% in 2019 to 161.9% in 2023, i.e. by 18.7 percentage points.

Yesterday, in the discussion held within the Eurogroup on the so-called Letta exhibition regarding the single European market, Mr. Hatzidakis noted that “if Europe wants more investments, it must have correspondingly high ambitions. Don’t just stick to declarations and reports. As long as we delay, this is to our detriment.”

In the debate on the specific topic, the former Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Enrico Letta presented the main conclusions of his recent report on the future of the common market. In the intervention, Mr. Hatzidakis focused on the need to stimulate both private and public investments and developed the main parameters that can contribute to this goal:

  • Promote the integration of capital markets towards the creation of a true Savings and Investments Union – as suggested by the Letta report.
  • Completion of the Banking Union, with a deposit guarantee at the European level, which will contribute directly and indirectly to the strengthening of private investments.
  • European public procurement policy, where possible, based on recent joint procurements for vaccines and natural gas. This policy will reduce costs and boost the dynamics of the European economy.
  • Further use and development of the “Important Projects of Common European Interest” initiative in order to strengthen the financing of investments in strategically important areas such as the creation of energy networks, especially electricity, as well as defense (e.g. the European air defense system). It is noted here that the creation of trans-European electricity networks will contribute to the reduction of electricity prices.
  • More active participation of the national pension funds in the capital markets, in order to improve the utilization of their funds, with the necessary natural guarantees of proper governance and sustainability.
  • Investments in human capital, in order to facilitate the diffusion of new knowledge and technologies, a basic condition for strengthening competitiveness.

In the framework of the meeting, a joint declaration of the Eurogroup on the fiscal orientation of the eurozone was adopted, in which it is pointed out that the necessary consolidation in the public finances of the member states should be done in a way that does not affect growth, while at the same time it should strengthen productivity and maintain or increase investment, which remains essential for a competitive, dynamic and resilient economy.

In his intervention, Mr. Hatzidakis stated that Greece agrees with the content of the joint statement which is balanced, pointing out that no one disputes the need for a serious fiscal policy, but care should be taken to avoid “excessive adjustment” which it will ultimately hurt the economy, underscoring the special importance of investment.

In discussing its operation European Exchange Rate Mechanism it was found that Bulgaria has made significant progress in meeting the criteria for joining the Eurozone, however the level of inflation remains relatively high along with transparency-related points as well. In his intervention, Mr. Hatzidakis noted the effort made by the Bulgarian government and asked that this effort be judged in a fair manner.
During today’s debate at ECOFIN, all finance ministers who took the floor, including Mr. Hatzidakis and the Cypriot Minister, Mr. Keraynos, reminded the Hungarian Presidency that Ukraine should remain in its priorities, while condemning the Russian invasion.