Greece steps up efforts to meet 177 Recovery Fund milestones

There are only 7 months left until the Recovery Fund cycle ends.

Athens has started a “race” to complete all 177 remaining milestones in order to receive the total resources it is entitled to this year, namely 35.9 billion euros (grants & loans).

In March, the government will welcome, once again, a special team from the EU Commission with the aim of “monitoring” the progress of the Greek Recovery Plan. If deemed necessary, there will be the possibility of another revision of “Greece 2.0”, which, however, is not in the intentions of the Greek side, according to competent sources.

Pending the approval by the EU Commission of the 7th request for the disbursement of an amount of 1.17 billion euros (883.9 million euros from the grants and 293.8 million euros from the loans), which was submitted before the end of 2025, Greece is preparing the next steps for the submission of the 8th request and 9th request by the end of August.

Based on the schedule that has been set:

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• In April, the 8th request from the grants section is planned to be submitted with the completion of 32 milestones and objectives.
• In May, the 7th request from the loans section will be submitted after the implementation of 2 milestones.
• In August, the 8th request (loans) will be submitted with the completion of 10 milestones and the 9th request (grants) will be submitted after the implementation of 133 milestones and objectives.

The emblematic reforms for the submission of the 8th request include the creation of an artificial intelligence factory, the institutional framework for quality assurance, patient safety and their participation in the provision of healthcare services, as well as the completion of the Land Registry. The investment section includes:

• Renovation works in 19 hospitals in the country
• Digital transformation in the health sector with the expansion of appointment creation, upgrading of the electronic prescription system.
• The completion of a grant for 100,000 small and medium-sized enterprises to acquire digital tools.

However, the reforms included in the 9th payment request are also particularly important, such as:

• Reduction of delays in forced execution and creation of a mechanism for the redefinition of rights regarding “pre-auction” and “post-auction” suspensions.
• Completion of special spatial planning frameworks for RES, tourism, industry.
• New Local Government Code
• Completion of the OSE reform.

However, the 9th payment request also involves investments such as:

• 425 electric buses in Athens and Thessaloniki
• The electronic interconnection of the Cyclades
• The completion of renovations in 80 hospitals and 156 health centers
• The energy efficiency renovation of 100,000 homes
• The delivery of the Northern Section of the E-65 road network (Trikala-Egnatia Motorway).

Excluding the seventh payment request submitted to the Commission just before the turn of the year, Greece has received 23.4 billion euros, i.e. 65.1% of the total resources. Following the disbursement of the 7th request, the total amount will increase to 24.5 billion euros, which corresponds to 68.3% of the total resources allocated to it.

It is recalled that countries are invited to achieve the milestones and targets they have set by 31 August 2026. After this date, no payments and no additional action taken to meet the milestones and targets can be made. Similarly, amendments to the recovery and resilience plans cannot be approved after 31 August 2026.