EU Signs First ‘Greece 2.0’ Funding Agreement

The Greek government and the European Commission on Friday signed the first funding agreement that is part of Greece’s national recovery and resilience plan (dubbed Greece 2.0). The first agreement covers financial support of 17.8 billion euros.

Approved by the EU earlier this month, the plan sees Greece receiving around 31 billion euros from the European Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) over the period 2021-2026, in the form of grants and loans.

The Greece 2.0 plan sees the creation of some 200,000 job positions through 68 reforms and 106 flagship investments focused on green, digital, employment and private investments.

The plan aims to use the 31-billion-euro EU funds to utilize 60 billion euros of total investment over the next five years.

Friday’s agreement, which covers the first 13.5 billion euros in aid, was signed between EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and the Deputy Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis.By the end of the month Greece should receive a disbursement of 4 billion euros in pre-financing.

“The investments and reforms included in ‘Greece 2.0’ aim to lead the country’s economy, society and institutions to a new era,” Minister Skylakakis said in a statement.

He added that the “Greece 2.0” plan will lead the country towards a more competitive and green productive model, a more efficient and digitized state with less bureaucracy and a growth-friendly tax system.

According to Skylakakis, a second agreement of the plan, concerning loans worth 12.7 billion euros, is expected to be completed soon.

The financial aid by the EU is a one-off initiative intended to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The “Greece 2.0” plan can be seen here.