The Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, today submitted to the European Commission the fifth request for the disbursement of €3.1 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Fund. This is a simultaneous double request for grants and loans, covering 32 milestones and targets.
In particular, our country has requested EUR 1.3 billion from the grants strand, after reaching 29 milestones, and EUR 1.8 billion from the loans strand, through 3 milestones, after readjustment, in order to finance the two new housing programs "My House II" and "Upgrade My House," for a total of EUR 1.3 billion of Cohesion Fund resources.
To date, our country has successfully completed four payment requests, and the total amount of disbursements to Greece from Recovery Fund resources amounts to €18.2 billion, which is more than 50% of the total budget of the National Plan "Greece 2.0." In the near future, once the European Commission's assessment of the 5th request submitted today has been successfully completed, total disbursements to Greece will now amount to €21.3 billion, i.e., 64% of the total resources allocated to Greece.
Some of the major milestones met for the submission of the 5th payment request concern the contracting of projects such as: the preparation of urban plans in 750 municipalities throughout the country and more than 65 strategic urban renewal projects in municipalities across the country; including the redevelopment of Botaniko and the Athenian Riviera; the forest protection plan for fire prevention ("antiNERO"), reforestation and erosion and flood control projects in Evros and Rodopi; more than 20 innovation centres in Universities and 70 Research Excellence Partnerships between Greek Universities and the private sector; progress in the implementation of projects such as the completion of the energy upgrade 8. 000 additional homes under the "Home Energy Efficiency" programme, the support of small and medium-sized enterprises through the "Energy Efficiency in the Tertiary Sector" and "Change Device" programmes, the launch of new energy saving programmes, as well as the promotion of broader reforms such as: the acceleration of VAT refunds, the completion of 85% of the land registration by the National Cadastre, the legislative framework for the transition to fast broadband connections, etc.
Similarly, on the loan side, milestones include the contracting of EUR 7.064 billion of TAF loan resources and the signing of the operational agreements with the Hellenic Development Bank for the activation of the housing programs "My House II" and "Upgrade My House.".
Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, said: "The submission of the 5th request for disbursement of resources from the Recovery Fund, following the completion of new milestones and reforms as well as the inclusion of important interventions to improve entrepreneurship, infrastructure, green transition and the daily lives of citizens, is another practical demonstration of the government's commitment to achieving the goal of double convergence with the rest of Europe in terms of income and equal sustainable and equitable growth among the country's regions. With the determination and efficiency that has brought and maintains Greece in the top positions of absorption among the EU member states, we are accelerating the structural changes that the country needs; we are putting into practice our commitments to our fellow citizens, allocating every available euro from the European resources we have secured, for the benefit of society and the economy."
