Brussels, 31 August 2023
Today, Greece submitted a request to the Commission to modify its recovery and resilience plan, to which it also wishes to add a REPowerEU chapter.
The REPowerEU chapter includes energy efficiency measures related for instance to energy renovations for households and utilities, and to increasing penetration of renewable energy sources, with measures promoting energy storage, as well as reforms promoting the transition towards a smart grid and energy sharing.
Greece’s request to modify its plan is based on its request to take up €5 billion in additional loans. The additional loans will be used as a top-up for the loans compartment of the existing loan facility measure, which aims to support private investment related to the green transition, digitalisation, increasing export capacity, economies of scale and innovation. Companies will be able to benefit from easier access to finance through loans at lower cost.
Greece’s request to modify its plan is also based on the need to factor in the change in market conditions.
Greece’s proposed modification of the plan foresees the modification of several measures from the original plan, and the addition of new measures, such as the inspection of seismic resistance of critical public infrastructures, as well as reforms in the areas of the Hellenic Cadastre primary health care, and taxation, including to encourage electronic transactions.
Greece has requested to transfer part of its share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, amounting to €25.6 million, to its recovery and resilience plan. Together with Greece’s REPowerEU grants allocation (€769.22 million) and the additional €5 billion loans support requested, these funds make the submitted modified plan worth €18.22 billion in grants support and €17.73 billion in loans support.
The Commission has now up to two months to assess whether the modified plan fulfils all the assessment criteria in the RRF Regulation. If the Commission’s assessment is positive, it will make a proposal for an amended Council Implementing Decision to reflect the changes to the Greek plan. Member States will then have up to four weeks to endorse the Commission’s assessment.
More information on the process concerning REPowerEU chapters and the revision of recovery and resilience plans can be found in this Q&A.
Source – EU Commission