Greece gets 3.6 billion euros from European recovery fund

Greece has received a 3.6 billion euro payment out of its allotted 30.5 billion from the European Union’s pandemic recovery fund

ATHENS, Greece -- Greece has received a 3.6 billion euro ($3.9 billion) payment out of its allotted 30.5 billion from the European Union’s pandemic recovery fund.

The announcement was made Friday by Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s executive vice president, via video link with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Dombrovskis, visiting Athens, held online meetings with Greek officials after testing positive for COVID-19, an EU official said.

The European recovery and resilience fund provides vital relief for Greece, which had barely emerged from a deep, decadelong financial crisis when the coronavirus pandemic hit. It provides 12.7 billion euros in loans and 17.8 billion euros in grants through 2026.

“The ongoing war in Ukraine has shown how quickly events can turn and that we are now finding ourselves in a different geopolitical reality,” Dombrovskis told Mitsotakis in the livestreamed video call. “It not only illustrates the need of remaining united in the face of Russian brutality but also of sticking to our policies to build up economic and social resilience.”