The Ministry of National Economy and Finance has been racing in order to meet the pending milestones and to proceed with the submission of the 4th installment payment request totaling 3.3 billion euros (loans and grants) from the Recovery Fund until the end of April.
In order for the process of submitting the request for the 4th tranche from the Recovery Fund to proceed, especially in the grants section, Athens will have to meet 20 milestones. Although most of them are “closed”, there are still some that are in the implementation phase. The main ones concern:
– three tenders for the Northern Road Axis of Crete (BOAK).
– the project for the 12 km pedestrian walkway on the Athenian Riviera which is expected to be completed soon.
– the project related to the energy upgrade of the private sector and more specifically the “Change device for businesses” program. The relevant program, with a total budget of 105.6 million euros, has been opened and the application process has begun.
However, in order to consider that this specific milestone has been completed, at least 9,700 applications must have been approved.
Although the plan of the ministry is to submit the request for the payment of the 4th installment by the end of April, Greece, like the other member states, has the possibility, if one or some milestones have not been met, to delay a little, or to submit an amended request depending on pending milestones.”
