Recovery blueprint draft heading to House plenary
A draft ratification agreement on EU recovery funds to Greece in the form of grants and loans completed its committee rounds on Wednesday and headed to plenary for debate and a vote.
The agreement between Greece and the EU is formally named “Ratification of the funding agreement between the European Commission and the Hellenic Republic, of the loan agreement between the European Commission and the Hellenic Republic, and their supplements.”
It sets out the exact amount Greece is to receive from the EU Recovery Fund – 17.8 billion euros in grants and €12.7 billion in loans.
At all committees, ruling New Democracy lawmakers supported the agreement, while main opposition SYRIZA, Movement for Change (KINAL) and Greek Solution reserved judgment for the plenary debate. The Greek Communist Party and MeRA25 voted against it.
“As a ratio to GDP, Greece is receiving the highest amount of any other country in Europe and by a wide margin,” Alternate Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said in Parliament. “Greece is at 20% of GDP and the next recipient is at 15% of GDP.”
He added that the total of funds and loans, at €30.5 billion, “will activate a total of €60 billion in investment funds, the greatest leverage of investment funds in Greek history, at a ratio of one-to-two.”
