One billion euros to help protect nature

A total of 1.039 billion euros will be spent on nature protection actions from 2021 to 2027, after the European Commission recently approved the aid.

For the first time, it demanded a specific list of actions to be funded, because discretionary spending by the aid recipients – states and regional government – had in the past led to a large part of the sums allocated being spent on things that had nothing to do with the environment and a lot to do with local and national politics.

The money will help maintain and likely expand the Natura 2000 network of protected land and sea sites, which number 446 in Greece. It will also help protect endangered species outside the sites.