Today, the European Commission positively assessed Greece’s seventh payment request for €884 million in grants and €294 million in loans, totalling €1.18 billion, under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.

Following its assessment of the payment request, the Commission found that Greece has satisfactorily completed the 20 milestones and 6 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision.

The reforms and investments tied to this payment request will benefit Greek citizens and businesses, particularly through advances in the energy transition, transport, social inclusion, the digitalisation of public administration, healthcare, and an improved business environment.

Flagship measures in this payment request include:

• Establishing Greece’s first CO₂ storage facility, alongside an annual CO₂ storage reporting system to support industrial decarbonisation;
• Providing personal assistants for at least 1,500 people with disabilities;
• Renovating nine hospitals and 15 primary healthcare units, and creating chronic disease management units nationwide;
• Implementing a major IT upgrade for the Tax and Customs Administration, including additional equipment for staff to enhance tax audit efficiency and public revenue collection;
• Digitalising driving licence services, simplifying procedures for issuance, renewal, vehicle transfers, and licence plate registrations;
• Improving access to affordable mortgages, and providing financial incentives for private investments, including corporate co-financed loans, InvestEU guarantees for small and medium enterprises, and equity support for innovative companies.

Next steps

The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Greece’s fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Council’s Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The payment to Greece can take place following the EFC’s positive opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.

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