* Known neo-Nazi's disguised as hooligans murdered a 19-year old
* A young skier loses his life because the helicopter came too late
* “We don’t decrease fuel special tax because the poor don’t have a car”
- are the main headlines to be found inside this highly informative weekly must-read from and about Greece.
A 19-year-old was cold-bloodedly murdered in Thessaloniki. The motive for the murder appeared to be that he ‘belonged to the wrong football club’. However, it was a murder committed by neo-nazis.
A young professional mountaineer who had an accident during climbing lost his life. Because the rescue helicopter came after five hours.
While Greeks have gone mad with the price hikes, the deputy minister defends the governmental persistence on not cutting down on the excise due for fuel, because “the poor have no cars.”
Add to these headlines and main features a lot more overview and details about a variety of aspects of Greece during the week - together with an abundance of links to further reading and to more knowledge about Greece today.
By reading the newsletter - and even better by subscribing or becoming a supporting member - you will also find a lot of links to other sources and to events and developments that you will not otherwise come across. And even if some of them are in Greek only, by using a Translator in your browser, it will be easy to read no matter how familiar you are with the Greek language.
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Ι said many times on this blog that the surrealism we have been living in this country for the last two years resembles the one we used to l
Ι said many times on this blog that the surrealism we have been living in this country for the last two years resembles the one we used to love on the Monty Python series. I can understand the government’s efforts to turn black into white but the absurdity of statements by some minister is without saying. “Poor households do not have a car,” said the country’s Alternate Finance Minister and added following an outrage that they eat “beans and chickpeas” whose price hikes are not significant. aear without a previous example in this country. However, as it is our real life we go through each and every day, I can assure you: it is not funny!
Ζητάμε νωρίτερα 1,8 δισ. ευρώ που αφορούν τα δάνεια και θα τα πάρουμε κατά πάσα πιθανότητα έως το τέλος του χρόνου, ανέφερε ο αναπληρωτής υπουργός Οικονομικών. Το δεύτερο αίτημα πληρωμής από το Ταμείο Ανάκαμψης και Ανθεκτικότητας (ΤΑΑ) υποβάλλεται, σήμερα, Παρασκευή 30 Σεπτεμβρίου 2022, στην Ευρωπαϊ...
We are asking earlier for 1.8 billion euros related to the loans and we will probably get them by the end of the year, said the deputy finance minister.
The second payment request from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RAF) is submitted, today, Friday 30 September 2022, to the European Commission, by the responsible for the implementation of the "Greece 2.0" National Plan, Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis.
3.56 billion euros will flow into public coffers, as the successful completion of the 28 planned milestones* allows the submission of a single request, which concerns both the subsidies and the loans. Greece met, earlier than originally planned, three milestones related to the loan leg of the TAA. Therefore, €1.84 billion (loan payments) is added to the €1.72 billion (subsidy payment).
It is recalled that the total amount of the first installment, disbursed on April 8, 2022, also amounted to 3.56 billion euros (1.72 billion euros for subsidies and 1.84 billion euros for loans). Regarding the pre-financing, which was disbursed on 9.8.2021, it corresponds to 13% (3.96 billion euros) of the money allocated to Greece by the TAA.
Greece is among the first five countries to submit a request for disbursement of the second payment from the TAA and the first to submit a request for the third payment (loan tranche).
Subsidy arm
For now, 372 projects have been included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, with a total budget of 13.5 billion euros, with decisions signed by Mr. Skylakakis.
The projects fall under the four main pillars of the Plan, namely "Green transition", "Digital transition", "Employment - Skills - Social Cohesion" and "Private investment and transformation of the economy".
Some of the most recent contracts concern: Energy saving in public buildings (170,000,000 euros), Network upgrades of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE), with the aim of strengthening resilience and protecting the environment (60,000. 000 euros), Development, construction, placement in orbit and pre-operation of small satellites, which will support secure connectivity services (200,370,480 euros), Design, integration and support of the operation of the Registries of IDIKA S.A. in the health sector and of social security (15,195,456 euros), Universities of Excellence (194,246,072.52 euros), Secondary prevention - preventive tests against cervical and colon cancer (153,574,285.16 euros),Funding of basic research - Horizontal support of all sciences (59,059,751.60 euros), Technological Park "ThessINTEC" in Thessaloniki (35,062,000 euros) etc.
Loans section
150 investment projects have been submitted to "Greece 2.0" so far by interested investors.
Their total budget amounts to 6.82 billion euros, approximately, of which 2.83 billion euros concern TAA loans, 2.46 billion euros in bank funds and 1.53 billion euros are covered by the investors' funds.
The above investments fall into different sectors of the economy, e.g. industry, telecommunications, energy, transport, tourism, services, trade.
A large number of projects, from the 150 investment projects submitted, are at the stage of pre-approval by the credit institutions, while 23 investment projects have already been contracted, with a total budget of 1.41 billion euros, of which 650 million euros are financed by resources- TAA loans.
It is worth pointing out that in a time period of rapid interest rate increases, the weighted average interest rate of the loan contracts that have been signed amounts to 0.90%, with an average repayment period of approximately 10 years.
Resource absorption
In terms of absorption, within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the disbursement of resources from the Public Investment Program (PIP) amounts to 1.65 billion euros (up to and including September 29).
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Thodoros Skylakakis, pointed out: "The second request for payment from the Recovery Fund, which we are submitting, today, to the European Commission brings 3.56 billion euros to the public coffers. And this, after we successfully fulfilled the 19 reform milestones, the 6 investment milestones, and the 3 loan milestones earlier than originally planned. From this valuable financial tool - including the first payment and the pre-financing - more than 11 billion euros of resources have flowed into our country so far, at a difficult time for the international economy. The effective implementation of "Greece 2.0", combined with the country's investment dynamics and the high rate of growth recorded, compared to other states, constitute the triptych of reasons, which we believe will keep us away from the recession".
The Minister of State, Mr. Akis Skertsos, stated: "What distinguishes "Greece 2.0" from previous EU aid packages is the pillar of reforms that facilitate, accelerate and multiply the benefits of public investments for the green and energy transition, the digitization of the State and the economy, the support of private investments, extroverted and innovative businesses of all sizes, but also social cohesion. The Plan includes 68 reforms, in total, across the four pillars and in this tranche we have completed 19 critical reform milestones, among which are the establishment, by law, of the Personal Assistant for Persons with Disabilities, the strengthening of judges' skills for acceleration in the administration of justice, the start of implementation of a performance evaluation and remuneration system in the public sector, as well as the reorganization program of OSE-ERGOSE, the largest that has been done in our country for the modernization of the railway network, amounting to 4.5 billion euros. Citizens can perceive in their daily lives that the "Greece 2.0" Plan does not simply shield the economy, it changes it, it transforms our country, making it fairer, more resilient, more outgoing and productive".
The General Secretary for Coordination of the Government, Mr. Thanasis Kontogeorgis, noted: "Under the first and second disbursement requests from the Recovery and Resilience Fund we have successfully completed 26 reform efforts in total. Characteristic examples of these relate to the strengthening of public administration, the fight against corruption and the consolidation of transparency and accountability, the acceleration of the administration of justice and more broadly the institutional armoring of the country, as well as the strengthening of the welfare State, employment and upgrading the skills of the human resources, as of capital importance for the maintenance of social cohesion, the mitigation of inequalities and economic development. The reforms of "Greece 2.0" are inextricably linked to the national reform program of the government. I would like to thank the relevant Ministries,
The Commander of the Special Coordination Service of the Recovery Fund (EFSTA), Mr. Nikos Mantzoufas, emphasized: " A realistically optimistic plan for the country's recovery is in full swing, with particularly positive results already. It is characteristic that we succeed, with implementation of the three objectives for the loan leg, we request that an additional 1.84 billion euros come in from the loan leg, several months earlier than originally planned. At the same time, the Special Coordination Service, in cooperation and agreement with the European Commission, has established a strict and integrated Management and Control system, a necessary condition for the smooth disbursement of resources from the EU in our country. I would like to take this opportunity to express my warm thanks to the EU officials for their excellent and continuous cooperation in an ambitious, but realistic plan."
The Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman, Mr. Yannis Oikonomou, underlined: "Greece has shown remarkable resilience in the midst of the pandemic and the crises triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Endurance, recognized by international independent organizations and the EU institutions. Greece endured and endures also thanks to the economic progress made in these years, which offered us valuable resources. Greece just couldn't stand it. It also managed to recover, achieving frenetic growth rates. The National Recovery and Resiliency Plan "Greece 2.0" has a very important share in everything I mentioned. A plan of fundamental economic and social transformation, affecting economic activity, but also technologies, attitudes and institutions."
