Recovery Fund project snags

The reasons why the disbursement of cash from the EU support framework is running late

Around 20% of the investment budget contracted through the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) is made up of loan disbursements, which, according to the latest figures, do not exceed 2.3 billion euros.

These are loans from the fund and banks, for a total of €11.1 billion, which is the budget of the investment projects that have been approved to date, revealing a significant gap between the contracted projects and the funds that have been channeled into the economy through the mechanism of loans.

Data presented by Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanassis show that the number of proposed investments submitted on the GoBeyond platform comes to 700 projects, with a total budget of €24.2 billion. Of this, €10 billion corresponds to RRF loans, €8.2 billion to bank loans and €6 billion to companies’ own capital.

Despite the large number of submitted investment projects, the signed loan contracts are far below half, as they number around 287 and their total budget amounts to €11.15 billion. Of these, €4.7 billion euros are RRF loans, €3.8 billion are bank loans, while another €2.6 billion concerns the companies’ own funds.

The pressing deadline for the absorption of RRF resources, i.e. until August 2026, does not allow for complacency. According to bank sources, “the slow progress of RRF absorption reflects the general problems in the country’s legal and investment environment” and the causes of the delays are linked to the lack of so-called “mature projects” and the failure to complete the required studies.

The problem is more acute where approvals are required from agencies, such as archaeology, urban planning or regional authorities. The issue of licensing is key, given the high participation of the tourism sector in the utilization of RRF loans, whose businesses represent 28% of the investment projects that have received loans and 13% of the loan contracts that have been signed.

Geopolitical turmoil and difficulties in international trade are also making conditions more complex for various industries.