The Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Mr. Nikos Papathanasis, today submitted to the European Commission the fourth request for a €1 billion disbursement from the Recovery and Resilience Fund for grants, covering 20 milestones and targets.

This follows the 4th disbursement request of €2.3 billion for the loan component of the EIF in April, following the achievement of the target for the contractualization of EIF loan resources earlier than foreseen.

In total, disbursements to Greece under the Fund, expected in the coming months, now amount to EUR 3.3 billion. At the same time, a request for targeted technical amendments to the National Plan "Greece 2.0" has been submitted to the European Commission.

The Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Mr. Nikos Papathanasis, said: "With today's submission of the 4th disbursement request of €1 billion for grants from the Recovery Fund, another cycle of implementation of targets and milestones is completed. Thus, following the 4th disbursement request of €2.3 billion for the loan component, the total amount of disbursements will exceed 50% of the total funds the country is entitled to receive under the National Plan Greece 2.0. The projects included in the request are the best response to the allegations of alleged channelling of resources to the 'big and the few'. These funds will be channelled down to the last euro, to further fill the investment gap, to strengthen entrepreneurship, infrastructure, education, and health, to improve the daily lives of citizens, and of course, to create new and better paid jobs for all our citizens."

The Minister of State, Mr. Akis Skertos, noted: "With the completion of 5 more reform milestones in the fields of green energy, the increased participation of renewable energy sources in our energy mix, the faster administration of justice with the training of judges and court officials, the rationalization of pharmaceutical expenditure leading to a reduction of the clawback, and the simplification of tax legislation, aiming at a stable and fair tax environment, Greece is moving forward to become more European, more productive, and more just. Thanks to the efforts of the relevant ministries, we have already completed one-third of our reform commitments under the Recovery Fund, and we continue with the aim of remaining in the top European ranking in terms of absorption and utilisation rates of the RSF"