EIB loan for green transition of Western Macedonia
An 80-million-euro loan deal on Western Macedonia’s green transition from a lignite-based economy was signed between the Greek government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday.
Signatories included Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, Alternate and Deputy Development and Investment Ministers Nikos Papathanasis and Yiannis Tsakiris, respectively, and Western Macedonia Regional Director Giorgos Kasapidis.
A Development and Investment Ministry statement said that the loan is in the form of a multisector loan framework totaling 80,712,357 euros.
It will be funded through Pillar III of the Just Transition Mechanism (€14.5 million), the state or regional budget (€8 million), and by credit of €58.1 million provided by the EIB to the Greek state.
The plan is expected to “transform the regional economy of Western Macedonia on the basis of a new productivity model, under terms of social justice and sustainable development,” said Staikouras, who is also a member of the EIB’s board of managers.
