EIB agrees to help Greece manage EUR 5 billion of investments

This agreement will assist Greece in implementing its National Recovery and Resilience Plan

On Monday 12 April, the European Investment Bank (EIB) formally agreed to help Greece manage up to EUR 5 billion of investments as part of the country’s implementation of its National Recovery and Resilience Plan, “Greece 2.0”.

This means that EIB technical, financial, and environmental experts will assist Greece by helping the country identify potential high-impact projects, corporate investments, SME financing schemes and other effective financial structures. In doing so, the bank will make sure that the country is making the best use of the support which it will receive for its recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

What is more, it will prioritise investments in climate action, green energy transition, and digital transformation. It is important to note that this is the first time the EIB has made such an agreement in Europe.

Agreement signatories

According to a press release on the EIB’s website, the agreement was signed by the Greek Alternate Finance Minister Thodoros Skylakakis and the EIB Vice President Christian Kettel Thomsen in the presence of the Finance Minister Christos Staikouras.

Christos Staikouras, Finance Minister of the Hellenic Republic and Governor of the EIB, commented: “The European Investment Bank reconfirms today, in the best possible way, that it is an invaluable partner in our effort to respond to the health, social and economic challenges of our time, while forming a solid base to systematically increase the disposable income, to close the investment gap and to create many new, high quality jobs in Greece.”

The Alternate Finance Minister Thodoros Skylakakis also expressed his thoughts on the agreement, noting that it will massively contribute to the achievement of the country’s goals. “Our aim is to avoid wasting a single day in implementing large private investments, which will be financed by the Recovery Fund’s loan facility.

The government’s commitment to bridging the investment gap and to creating 200,000 full-time jobs requires cooperation with trustworthy partners, such as the EIB, which will contribute to this effort through its reliability, its extensive know-how and potentially very important additional financing,” Skylakakis shared.

In 2020, the EIB and EIF reportedly provided Greece with EUR 2.8 billion for high-impact private and public investment. Vice President of the EIB Christian Kettel Thomsen explained that they have helped Greece in numerous ways throughout the last 58 years. Now, Thomsen notes, the EIB “stands ready to support the country’s ambitious plans to harness opportunities provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility funds.”