In January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe, leading to a health crisis with major socio-economic consequences. The EU’s response was immediate, putting in place — among others — a temporary recovery instrument, NextGenerationEU, designed to raise €806.9 billion in addition to the regular EU budget in financial markets.

The core of NextGenerationEU is the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the largest EU funding programme to date, projected to disburse up to €723.8 billion in grants and loans to Member States. The RRF Regulation entered into force in February 2021, stipulating that each Member State will submit a National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) identifying the reforms and investments that the Member State commits to implement.

In February 2023 the RRF Regulation was amended to include the implementation of the REPowerEU plan – the Commission’s response to the global energy market disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan ‘Greece 2.0’ was adopted on July 13, 2021, by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (Ecofin), amounting €30.5 billion, while on December 8, 2023, its revision was approved, concerning mainly new investments and reforms under REPowerEU as well as expanding the existing loan program.

The revised Plan amounts to €35.95 billion. It includes 103 investments and 76 reforms, structured around four pillars, including the new REPowerEU chapter: Green Transition, Digital Transformation, Employment-Skills-Social Cohesion, Private Investments and Transformation of the Economy.

Its resources are channeled into grants and loans and is expected to mobilize over €60 billion of total investment in the country by the end of 2026, when all projects should have been implemented.