Greece enters final phase of 36 billion euro Recovery Fund absorption

Greece is entering the final stages of utilizing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with the government preparing to submit its final payment requests. The Ministry of National Economy and the Special Coordination Service of the Recovery Fund are working to finalize milestones to submit the ninth and final request for grants and the eighth request for loans, totaling approximately 6.7 billion euros.

Over its five-year duration, Greece is set to absorb a total of 35.95 billion euros from the fund, split nearly equally between grants and loans. To date, 24.63 billion euros have been collected, leaving 11.32 billion euros remaining. The government aims to submit the final requests by late September, with disbursements expected by the end of December.

A significant challenge remains the timely completion of large-scale strategic projects to avoid the risk of losing or returning European funds. Key projects under pressure include the Northern Road Axis of Crete (BOAK) and infrastructure restoration in Thessaly following Storm Daniel. Officials note that delays in these high-demand construction projects could jeopardize the full utilization of the available resources before the 2026 deadline.