Commission endorses positive preliminary assessment of Greece’s fourth payment request for €2.3 billion in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

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Today, the Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Greece’s fourth payment request for €2.3 billion in loans (net of pre-financing) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.

Following its assessment of the payment request, submitted by Greece on 17 April 2024, the Commission has preliminarily concluded that Greece has satisfactorily completed the one target set out in the Council Implementing Decision for the fourth loan instalment. 

The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Greece in the areas of the green transition, digitalisation, increasing export capacity, economies of scale and innovation.

The target in this payment request requires that a cumulative €4.5 billion of RRF loan contracts are signed by financial institutions with companies to support private investment. It is part of the Loan Facility, which is the largest measure in Greece’s recovery and resilience plan.

The Loan Facility was established as part of Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Plan to address the low level of private investment and thus accelerate economic development and economic growth. It aims to support private investment related to the green transition, digitalisation, increasing export capacity, economies of scale and innovation. Companies can benefit from easier access to finance through loans, as well as equity support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Examples of investments funded are the replacement of existing electricity consumption meters and metering systems with digital ones, investments in machinery for construction and civil engineering works, the development of a photovoltaic park, the construction of wind farms, and increasing the production capacity of the industrial plants by adding new production lines.

Next steps

The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Greece’s fulfilment of the target required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Greece can take place following the EFC’s opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.

Background

The Greek recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures. More information on the Greek plan, including a map of projects financed by the RRF in Greece, is available here. The plan will be financed by €18.2 billion in grants and €17.7 billion in loans. The payment request preliminary endorsed today follows Greece’s third payment request, that was endorsed by the Commission on 28 November 2023 and paid out to Greece on 22 March 2023.

This payment request will bring the funds paid out to Greece under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to €17.2 billion, out of which €9.62 billion in loans. This corresponds to 47% of all the funds in the Greek plan, with 22% of all the milestones and targets in the plan fulfilled.