The European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday formally agreed to help manage up to 5 billion euros ($5.95 billion) as part of Greece’s implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, known as “Greece 2.0”.
EIB technical, financial and environmental experts will identify high-impact projects, priority sectors and effective financial structures to ensure best use of new European grant and loan support for Greece to mitigate the social and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
On March 31, Greece unveiled the Plan for the day after the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented the key principles of the plan – dubbed “Greece 2.0.,” which aspires to not only create 200,000 jobs but also to increase GDP by 7.0 points in the next six years.
Under the multi-billion-euro coronavirus recovery package agreed upon by European Union leaders last year, Athens is to receive 19.4 billion euros in grants and 12.7 billion euros in inexpensive loans over the coming years.
The recovery plan, will be debated in Parliament and is expected to be submitted to the European Commission in April.
National plans will be financed by the European Union from a 750 billion-euro recovery fund that will be jointly borrowed and repaid by the whole 27-nation bloc.
The new cooperation signed on Monday represents the first time that the European Investment Bank has agreed to assist implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility anywhere in Europe.
“We have prepared a realistically ambitious, modern, innovative and extroverted National Recovery and Resilience Plan, underpinned by structural reforms, efficient public investment and important private sector participation, said Christos Staikouras, the Greek Finance and Governor of the European Investment Bank.
“The agreement will ensure that recovery from the challenges of COVID-19 also delivers climate action, harnesses digital opportunities and accelerates the energy transition,” said Christian Kettel Thomsen, European Investment Bank Vice President responsible for lending operations in Greece.
Greece’s recovery plan focuses on green and digital investment
Greece is expected to receive around EUR 31 billion from the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, in the form of grants and loans. This is a one-off initiative intended to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
The key focus of new investment will support climate action, green energy transition and digital transformation, alongside other sectors that reflect social and economic priorities in Greece.
The new cooperation will initially focus on identifying and proposing new high-impact investment projects located across the country using an estimated EUR 5 billion of investment from the National Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Projects will be examined and appraised by EIB experts, and may also benefit from EIB financing alongside European Recovery and Resilience Facility resources.
Last year the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund provided a record EUR 2.8 billion of new support for high-impact private and public investment in Greece.
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