Three main goals in Greece's RRF funds
In its third request to the European Commission for Recovery and Resilience Facility financing, Greece has asked for the release of 1.72 billion euros in order to achieve three main goals: investments in e-mobility and e-vehicle charging infrastructure, financing renovations for the energy upgrade of buildings and digitizing public administration combined with greater use of fiber-optic infrastructure in buildings. The goals include a series of reforms for improving the efficiency of public administration, speeding up the delivery of justice and strengthening action against corruption and smuggling. There are also reforms tackling weaknesses in town planning, improving labor force skills, establishing a regulatory authority for water and sewage, regulating urban and inter-city public transport and improving the regulatory framework for industrial zones. The funds requested form part of the subsidies of the Greece 2.0 program and increase the total from the RFF to €12.8 billion. Greece is among the first three EU member-states to apply for a third payment from the RFF, along with Italy and Spain. It first had to reach a series of milestones, while the process for disbursing the new funds depends on the progress in implementing the investments and reforms outlined in the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan. The European Commission will evaluate the request and whether Greece has met the goals and milestones needed for payment.
Hydrogen's prospects. The joint vision of Motor Oil and PPC for the hydrogen economy, as initially reflected by the signing of the memorandum of understanding in January 2022 and then the establishment of the joint company Hellenic Hydrogen six months later, is moving into the next phase of implementation of the first investment plans. Starting from Western Macedonia, Hellenic Hydrogen is laying the foundations of its investment plan, with the maturation of the first large-scale green hydrogen production investment and a series of smaller projects throughout Greece, utilizing the facilities of its shareholders. As the managing director of Hellenic Hydrogen, Dimitris Triantafyllopoulos, revealed to Kathimerini, the company is already considering opportunities for expansion in the wider Balkan region and is talking with other investors to participate in its investment plans.