New rules introduced on public investments
Faster project integration procedures, flexible procedures with the removal of bureaucratic obstacles, as well as digital monitoring of every euro disbursed and of the implementation of projects, are the objectives of a new bill by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance.
The draft law on the “Establishment of the Development Program of Public Investments” was presented on Tuesday at a press conference by Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and his deputy, Nikos Papathanassis.
For the current year, according to the budget, the total financing through the Public Investments Program (PIP), including the funds of the Recovery Fund, will not amount to 12.167 billion euros. This is equivalent to 5.2% of the annual gross domestic product and cannot contribute more than 65% to the annual growth.
The PIP funds are broken down into €6.5 billion for co-financed projects, €2.05 billion for projects financed exclusively from national resources and €3.617 billion for projects and actions of the Recovery Fund.
The arrangements included in the draft law aim at the implementation of projects financed by national and/or European resources and, by extension, the faster and more efficient absorption of funds, the better planning of projects, the timely assurance of their financing and the further reduction of bureaucracy.
For the first time, a mechanism is created to ensure the maintenance of the projects, as well as a separate account of project financing requirements for dealing with natural disasters.
Minister Hatzidakis said that “from 2019 onwards, our country has achieved historically high performance in the increase of investments, while it is in the highest positions in the EU in terms of the absorption of European funds. However, the effort continues every day, at the level of absorbing EU funds and combining these funds with national funds. In this context, a first achievemnt has been the subordination of the Public Investment Program to the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, in order to ensure optimum coordination in the planning and implementation of the PIP and the state budget as a whole. Now the government is introducing a new step to strengthen the national effort with the bill for the modernization of the PIP”.
Papathanasis added: “In 2024, the largest Public Investment Program of the last 14 years is being created, amounting to €12.2 billion, at a time when Greece is still at the forefront of absorbing NSRF and Recovery and Resilience Fund resources at the EU level. By submitting and passing the bill, we aim to further strengthen the developmental nature of the PIP. We are introducing reform initiatives for even better immediate and long-term planning, use of digitization, speeding up with transparency the procedures for absorption of funds, continuous monitoring of the operation of projects, special care for dealing with the effects of climate crisis. With the goal of not losing a single euro of the European and national resources we targeted, we are moving forward even more decisively, with the new program supporting the growth of the economy and social cohesion, contributing to the coverage of the investment public that created the crisis. At the same time, the investment dimension of the program creates the conditions for a further reduction of unemployment, with the creation of new and better-paid jobs for all our fellow citizens”.
