RRF: Greece Slow to Absorb Funds, Slower to Disclose Recipients

Domestic grumblings about Greece’s slow rate of disbursement of Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds within the country, as well as the delays in providing publicly available data about where the funds have gone, have now spread to the European Commission, says In.gr.

RRF Funds and Disbursement Rates

Greek media and domestic opposition parties have highlighted that the Greek government is slow in disbursing RRF funds—so slow that some projects are at risk of losing the earmarked funds, according to In.gr.

One such project is on the island of Crete and is considered to be a critical infrastructure project called the Northern Road Axis (VOAK), adds In.gr.

A recent Bank of Greece study has found that less than a quarter of RRF loans to Greece have reached their final recipients (as of April 2024), and just 45% of grants have found their way to private companies.

The study also revealed that 31% of funds had been transferred to regions, municipalities, and other authorities without providing publicly available data on the status of the projects the funds went to.

Delays in Reporting

Regulations state that countries must report on the 100 greatest recipients of RRF funding twice per year. According to European Commission officials, only Greece and Bulgaria have failed to do so for 2024, notes In.gr.

In defense of its delay in reporting, Greece explains that the regulation does not specify when countries must release the information. As a result, Greece explains that it intends to release its first report in October, according to In.gr.

Source: tovima.com