PASOK bases its parliamentary question to the government on the triad of “incompetence, lack of transparency, and meritocracy,” accusing it of a lack of planning and failure to change the country’s economic model, citing the approximately 90 billion euros in European funds that New Democracy had at its disposal.
The parliamentary question is scheduled for Friday and focuses on the Recovery Fund. According to PASOK MP Pavlos Geroulanos, the Recovery Fund appears to be nearing completion with the full absorption of the 36 billion euros, but with fewer, different, and less expensive projects than those originally included.
Mr. Geroulanos presented data today comparing the projects that were originally included with the final list. The presentation reaches the following key conclusions:
First, each of the four revisions included cuts or downgrades to critical projects. “Each review was a step in the wrong direction,” according to the special analysis of 195 Recovery Fund projects, which examines their progress from the first review in December 2023 through December 2025. It should be noted that one review is still pending.
Second, two-thirds of the measures deviate from the original plan.
Third, according to Mr. Geroulanos’s analysis, the latest review in December 2025 identifies significant problems in the area of subsidies.
Fourth, serious problems were also identified in the expenditure component.
Fifth, rather than accelerating the implementation of landmark projects, their pace of progress is slowing down.
According to the data presented, significant projects have been scrapped or scaled back, including water supply projects, regional civil protection centers, 5G networks, undersea fiber-optic cables, childcare facilities in businesses, research and innovation initiatives, railway network projects, and the electronic toll system.
At the same time, a list of measures is presented that show significant reductions in targets or physical scope, such as:
- National irrigation network
- Aerial resources for crisis management
- Active employment policies
- Excellence in universities and innovation
- Personal physician
- Social inclusion
- Digital transformation of tax and customs authorities
- Strengthening the financial system’s capacity to finance the real economy
- Northern Road Axis of Crete (BOAK)
- Restoring Accessibility Following Storms Daniel and Elias
- Energy storage
- Organizational reform of the railway sector
For this reason, PASOK is requesting detailed explanations for each measure, comparing the initial commitments with the final outcome. At the same time, it is asking for information on which projects were initially included in the Recovery Fund but were ultimately not implemented, arguing that the government is not providing relevant information.
As a telling example, Mr. Geroulanos notes that the initial plan called for the implementation of 18 major irrigation projects through public-private partnerships (PPPs) by the end of the program. However, he argues that none of these projects remained included in the Recovery Fund.
Example 1
Under Measure 16870 of Greece 2.0, which concerns investments in the electrical interconnection of the islands and the upgrading of the electricity grid, the 2021 plan provided for the award of all ADMIE contracts for the installation of the Naxos-Thira cable connection, the Koumoundouros-Corinth ultra-high-voltage cable, as well as the substations on Milos, Folegandros, and Serifos, along with the corresponding interconnections.
Following the latest revisions, the milestone now only provides for the construction of Phase D of the Cyclades interconnection, the upgrade of the Koumoundouros substation, and the construction of the Corinth–Koumoundouros overhead transmission line.
According to Mr. Geroulanos’s presentation, there is no longer any mention of the substations on the islands or the remaining interconnections, a fact which, he argues, constitutes a significant reduction in the scope of the project.
Example 2
In the “Greece 2.0” program for investment and entrepreneurship, the initial plan provided for:
a) By June 30, 2023, the approval of applications from 9,700 businesses for interventions that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30%. b) By December 31, 2025, the completion of energy efficiency upgrades at those same 9,700 businesses.
Following the revisions, the targets were scaled back as follows:
- Milestone 33 now calls for the approval of applications for 3,500 businesses.
- Milestone 36 calls for the implementation of energy efficiency upgrades at just 2,600 businesses.
- According to Mr. Geroulanos’s analysis, these changes constitute a significant downgrade—both in terms of quantity and quality—of the measure’s original target.