The implementation of the Greek recovery and resilience plan is progressing smoothly, the European Commission says in its annual report, but "increased efforts" are needed for its timely implementation.

According to the Commission's annual report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRF), by 31 August 2024, more than €267 billion had been disbursed to 25 member states, out of a total available amount of €650 billion in grants and loans. By the end of 2024, more than €300 billion is expected to be disbursed, i.e., almost 41% of the available RRF financing.

GRANTS AND LOANS

In particular, as regards Greece's Recovery and Resilience Plan, it is recalled that it is financed with up to €18.2 billion in grants and €17.7 billion in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) over the period 2021-2026. Grants and loans from the RRF represent 16.3% of Greece's GDP.

As of 31 August 2024, the Commission had disbursed €17.2 billion for Greece under the RRF. Of this amount, €7.6 billion are grants and €9.6 billion are loans. Therefore, Greece still has €18.7 billion in grants and loans available. This amount can be disbursed after the assessment of the future fulfilment of the remaining 294 milestones and targets and before the expiry of the RRF at the end of 2026.

Greece's recovery and resilience plan includes a REPowerEU chapter to phase out its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, diversify its energy reserves, and produce more clean energy in the coming years.

To start the implementation of the REPowerEU chapter, €158.7 million was disbursed for Greece as pre-financing in January 2024. This helped to kick-start the relevant reforms, including facilitating the production of renewable hydrogen and biomethane, optimising the use of land and sea space for renewable energy development, and promoting energy sharing, energy communities, and self-consumption.

GREEN TRANSITION

The Greek Recovery Plan focuses on the green transition, dedicating 38.1% of the total available funds to measures supporting climate targets and 22.1% to support the digital transition. It also maintains a strong social dimension with social protection measures, in particular to promote the labour market and upgrade skills for workers and the unemployed.

The implementation of the Greek recovery plan is progressing well, with four of Greece's payment requests completed. "However, the timely completion of the national recovery plan requires increased efforts," the Commission says. For disbursements so far, 86 milestones and targets (22% of the total 381 milestones and targets in the Greek plan) had been met, mainly related to reforms and investments to make the electricity market suitable for a high share of renewable energy, to develop a modern railway network, a greener public bus fleet, as well as investments in energy efficiency, waste management, the labour market, tax policy, enterprise, environment, public administration, public health, and the environment.

Greece's most recent payment request, which the Commission assessed positively, led to the disbursement of €2.3 billion on 23 July 2024. The disbursement reflected the positive assessment of one objective, namely further progress in mobilising private investment in areas such as green and digital transition, increasing export capacity, and research, development, and innovation.

The data reported by Member States up to April 2024 as part of their biannual reporting obligations, the content of the Commission-approved recovery and resilience plans, and advancements in the RRF's implementation up to the end of August 2024 serve as the foundation for the information in the report.