EIB Group backing €1.9 billion COVID response and climate action investment in Greece

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis talking to EIB President Werner Hoyer, Vice-President Christian Kettel Thomsen, and EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard

EIB President Werner Hoyer, Vice-President Christian Kettel Thomsen, and EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard are visiting Athens this week to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, Hellenic Development Bank Chief Executive Athina Chatzipetrou and government ministers, and to highlight the impact of new EIB Group engagement in the country.

This includes financing companies facing unprecedented challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic, through €400 million backing for business financing provided to the new Hellenic Development Bank. It also involves the first use of the European Guarantee Fund in Greece.

The EIB is also announcing it will cooperate with the Public Power Corporation to upgrade the Greek national electricity network, enable increased use of renewable energy, and offer new financial and technical support for communities traditionally dependent on lignite production and heavy industry. The deal is designed to help communities and sectors of the economy succeed in their transition to green energy and decarbonised production.

The first high-level EIB Group visit to Greece since March 2020 provides an opportunity to demonstrate the Group’s engagement with key public and private partners in Greece for the twin challenges of COVID-19 and climate action.

The EIB has financed investment across Greece since 1963 and last year the EIB Group provided a record €2.8 billion for new public and private investment across the country. This is enabling thousands of companies to harness new opportunities and backing small-scale projects that deliver safer roads, better schools and protection from floods.