Recovery Fund: investments top €45 billion

The Ministry of National Economy and Finance announced on Monday 21 September 2026, through the Press Office, that the full utilization of the loan component of the Recovery and Resilience Facility mobilizes total investments exceeding 45 billion euros. According to the announcement, which was issued in response to criticisms that had been raised in public debate, small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to borrow at an interest rate of 0.35% through the Hellenic Development Bank. The ministry clarified that Greece is not paying any additional interest compared to other European Union member states for the loans it has received from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, since all countries repay the funds at the same low cost at which the Union borrowed them from the markets.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility was established after the pandemic as an extraordinary European tool, with the European Union proceeding for the first time to joint borrowing to finance investments and reforms in member states. Greece has a total of 35.95 billion euros, of which 18.22 billion euros concern grants that do not need to be repaid and 17.73 billion euros concern loans. As the ministry noted, it is the only European financing program in which disbursements are not linked to expenditure, but to the achievement of specific milestones and targets. Greece is, according to the same announcement, the only Union country that directed the entirety of its loan component exclusively to the private economy, with the aim of covering the investment gap left behind by the ten-year crisis, a strategy that is also connected to the improvement of the country’s credit rating, as was recorded recently in the upgrade of Greece’s outlook by Moody’s and Scope.

According to the ministry, the loan component is channeled to the real economy with fixed interest rates starting from 0.35% for small and medium-sized enterprises and forming around 1% for other investments, financing business investment plans, guarantee tools, venture capital schemes and programs of a social character. The same interest rate of 0.35% will also apply to loans that the Hellenic Development Bank will grant to small and medium-sized enterprises, thanks to the redirection of Recovery and Resilience Facility funds worth 1.5 billion euros. The ministry estimates that these specific resources are expected to mobilize an additional 5 billion euros in loans and new investments for small and medium-sized enterprises in all regions of the country. In parallel, as noted, the Facility does not have regional quotas, but finances projects throughout the territory.

As an example, the ministry cited the Region of Thessaly, where loan contracts already concluded through the loan program concern investment projects with a total budget of 1.39 billion euros, of which 648.7 million euros come from Recovery and Resilience Facility loans. In the same region, projects are being financed including restoration of the road and rail network following the storms Daniel and Elias, the northern section of the Trikala-Egnatia axis, as well as upgrades to hospitals and health centers. The ministry did not specify a new timetable for completion of the loan component, nor did it announce additional information on the distribution of resources by region. More information on the progress of the Greek economy can be found in the Economy section.