Absorption of Recovery and Resilience Facility funds by Greece

Subject: Absorption of Recovery and Resilience Facility funds by Greece

Greece has secured significant funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility in both grants and loans, aiming to support the green and digital transitions. However, it appears that progress in the absorption of these resources is showing serious delays, which raises concerns about the successful completion of the planned projects by the end of the programme.

In light of this:

1. What measures could the Commission propose to ensure faster implementation of investments and avoid loss of funds?

2. How does the Commission assess the effectiveness of the reforms undertaken by the Greek Government as prerequisites for the disbursement of funds?

Submitted: 5.3.2025

Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission (5 May 2025)

The Recovery and Resilience Facility (1) (RRF) supports 103 investments and 76 reforms in Greece as set out in a national plan (Greece 2.0) submitted by the Greek authorities to the Commission.

Disbursement of funds is based on satisfactory fulfilment of related milestones and targets following an assessment carried out by the Commission (2).

This assessment concerns the fulfilment of the requirements set out in the Council Implementing Decision (3) and verification is based on related evidence submitted by the Greek authorities (e.g. adoption of a law).

So far, 51% of RRF funds has been disbursed to Greece, and following the recent endorsement by the Commission of the fifth payment request for EUR 3.1 billion, total disbursements to the country will reach 59% in the next months.

The Greek authorities have adopted measures to facilitate the smooth implementation of the plan and boost administrative capacity, including through the establishment of a dedicated agency (EYSTA) that is part of the Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In the Council’s country-specific recommendations to Greece of July 2024 (4), Greece is further recommended to strengthen administrative capacity to manage EU funds, including RRF funds, accelerate investments, and maintain momentum in the implementation of reforms.

Greece is notably recommended to address challenges related to: (i) lengthy litigation processes in public procurement procedures that risk causing delays in investments; (ii) slow transfer of property rights; and (iii) weak coordination among Ministries.

1 ∙ ⸱ https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en

2 ∙ ⸱ https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility/country-pages/greeces-recovery-and-resilience-

plan_en 3 ∙ ⸱

https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/803810c9-c307-412e-8e9e-238ae6e76734_en? filename=COM_2024_591_1_EN_annexe_proposition_cp_part1_v4.pdf 4 ∙ ⸱ https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/96abbf09-3934-40a6-b234-f60c93928a87_en?filename=com_2024_608_1_en.pdf