As time is now pressing and the risk of losing Recovery and Resilience Fund resources is visible, the Finance Ministry has sounded the alarm and efforts are being made to accelerate procedures.
The deadline for submitting applications to banks for housing through “My Home 2” is being moved from the end of August to June 2. Also, the deadline for contracting business loans is being moved from the end of August to the end of June. According to the ministry, the early deadlines are being done in order to finalize the final payment request.
In a statement the ministry argued that the acceleration is dictated by the need “to quantitatively finalize the final milestone of the program within the framework of the Recovery Fund, so as to enable the approval of its revision and the timely and accurate submission of the final request for payment of the loans.”
Once the pillar assessment for the Hellenic Development Bank is completed, in addition to the €2 billion that will be “left over” from the loan portion, any funds not absorbed by “My Home 2” will also be transferred to HDB, creating the conditions for a new program.
Several prospective buyers – estimated at over 3,000 – have not yet signed a loan agreement and time is running out.
At the same time, the Energy Ministry wants the state’s participation in the share capital increase of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) be made with RRF resources.
According to ministry sources, months of technical discussions are underway with EU and RRF officials, in order to propose for inclusion in the upcoming review the increase in the ADMIE share capital, concerning the state’s contribution.
According to the same sources, these are additional RRF resources on top of the existing program the ministry is already implementing. The acceptance of this proposal, as they say, will constitute a clear vote of EU confidence in the government.