On the initiative of the Head of Development and Investments of the KO of SYRIZA-PS, Alexis Haritsis, 62 MPs of SYRIZA-PS tabled a parliamentary question about the government’s failure to implement the Recovery & Resilience Fund.
As the MPs of SYRIZA-PS note, although the Recovery & Resilience Fund is directly linked to the course of recovery and development of the Greek economy, the government’s planning to absorb the resources of the Recovery & Resilience Fund has completely failed.
The initial forecast in the introductory report of the 2021 Budget (November 2020) estimated that spending in 2021 would amount to 2.6 billion. euros, while in the Medium-term Budget Strategy Framework 2022-2025 (July 2021), the spending target was reduced to 1.59 billion. euro. In the end, only 306.54 million euros were spent, far below the Government’s own forecasts. At the same time, the inflows of the Recovery & Resilience Fund from Europe amount to 7.52 billion euros to date.
Based on a report by the Alternative Policy Institute “ENA”, the actual absorption in terms of expenditure of the Hellenic Plan of the Recovery and Resilience Fund until the 1st quarter of 2022 corresponded to only 1% of the total resources available to the country.
Despite the recent statements of the Deputy Minister of Finance that the absorption of resources reaches 1.2 billion. euros until the end of June 2022, according to information, an amount of approximately 600 million euros of which concerns a simple transfer to the account of the Development Bank for the Save program and not a payment to the beneficiaries of the program, while an amount of approximately 200 million euros concerns the transfer of money for the microsatellite network development project to a foreign account without any real progress in the implementation of the project.
SYRIZA-PS has pointed out from the beginning the need to create a special committee to monitor the implementation of the Recovery & Resilience Fund. In fact, in March 2022, the Leader of the Official Opposition, Alexis Tsipras, in a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament, requested the establishment of a Special Inter-Party Committee of the Parliament for this very purpose. A proposal to which there has been no response to date.
Because the Recovery & Resilience Fund is directly linked to the course of recovery and development of the Greek economy.
Because these critical resources can play a decisive role for the viability of businesses, the attraction of investments and the implementation of critical public projects.
Because, to date, the Government has not officially provided detailed information on the absorption of the Recovery & Resilience Fund.
Because, according to the statements of the Deputy Minister of Finance, no disbursement has been made to date from the loans of the Recovery & Resilience Fund.
Because, based on the figures that have been made public to date, what is observed is mainly accounting absorption and not real financing of the economy.
The relevant Ministers are asked,
1. What are the actual costs paid to the beneficiaries of the Recovery & Resilience Fund projects up to the end of June 2022? What projects have these resources been used for?
2. What part of the amount allocated to the Development Bank for the Save program has been paid to the beneficiaries of the program? How many beneficiaries does it concern?
3. What are the amounts that have been disbursed to businesses from the Recovery Fund’s loans? Which banks have proceeded with disbursements? How many loans and what amount of loans concern micro and small enterprises, medium enterprises and large enterprises?
Source: Capital
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