First ‘Greece 2.0’ funding agreement signed in Brussels

Greece and the European Commission have signed the funding agreement covering financial support worth 17.8 billion euros requested by Athens in the framework of its “Greece 2.0” National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The agreement singed on Friday covers the first €13.5 billion, while the agreement for the contract loans, covering loans worth €12.7 billion, is also expected to be completed soon.

The agreement was signed in Brussels by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.

The “Greece 2.0” plan envisages the creation of between 180,000 and 200,000 job positions through 106 investment plans and 68 reforms distributed across four key pillars: green, digital, employment and private investments.

The plan will make use of €31.16 billion worth of European funds (€18.43 billion in support and €12.73 billion in loans) to mobilize a total of €60 billion in investments over the next five years.

Commenting on the plan, Alternate Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said that the signing of the agreement “paves the way for Greece to implement the ‘Greece 2.0’ National Plan, which will attract huge European resources and mobilize €60 billion in investment resources to the benefit of all Greeks. The investments and reforms included in the plan will usher the country, its society, institutions and economy into a new era.”