The discussion on Friday in the Parliament about the Recovery Fund, following a question by PASOK, revealed a lot. The issue was not whether the 36 billion euros of the RRF were absorbed. On this, the government and PASOK agree. The confrontation lies behind this number.
The 36-billion-euro Recovery Fund concerned the period 2021-2026. It included 180 projects-investments with the sole purpose of changing the production model within the framework of sustainable development. The final program, after revisions, includes 195 projects. That is, more.
The first question that arises is based on common sense. More projects, of the same importance with the same quality—is that possible? A large part of the necessary projects that had initially been included is missing, or they were not maintained with the original specifications.
The big picture shows that only ⅓ of the projects that had initially been included remained in the program, and indeed without discounts. The remaining ⅔ were either removed or replaced by others with discounts.
Let us look at some examples:
1. Establishment of a Radiotherapy Center at the Athens General Hospital for Chest Diseases “Sotiria”. The building was constructed. But the devil, they say, is in the details. The project spoke of establishing, constructing, and completing the Center. That is, for it to operate normally and also have the corresponding quality certificates provided for. Among other things, there were commitments for interconnection with other major hospitals, etc. In the final plan there is no word “completion,” nor any relevant commitment for the quality indicator arising from a relevant report. Therefore, we are now talking about the construction of a building, but without a commitment that it will operate. We will perhaps have to wait for completion through another program to see the outcome.
2. Electrical interconnection of the islands and upgrading of the electricity grid. There is no longer any reference to island substations.
3. Grids and energy storage. While projects to strengthen renewable energy sources moved forward, 16 of the 24 investment plans were removed from or cut from the storage project. “The result? We produce surplus green energy, export it to Bulgaria for storage and re-import it,” said in Parliament PASOK MP and head of the Parliamentary Energy Sector, Fragkiskos Parasyris.
And because each case may be different and some projects may have been replaced by many others, as Deputy Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis replied, let us look at the overall picture from the special presentation made by PASOK parliamentary representative Pavlos Geroulanos at the offices on Charilaou Trikoupi.
This presentation was the result of a comparison. It took the measures of the original plan and those of the current one. It found the differences and the similarities. Some were removed and in others the quality bar was lowered.
However, Mr. Papathanasis stated that some projects may have been removed, but many other important ones were included, such as the housing program (“My Home”) and the electric buses.
His critics were quick to remind that the electric buses emerged after the withdrawal of the measure for electric taxis, while they mentioned a series of other important projects related to infrastructure and transport, such as the railways that were removed.
More specifically, all projects related to the following were removed:
- Water supply projects
- Regional civil protection operations centers
- Development of 5G networks
- Submarine fiber optic cables
- Childcare units within large businesses
- Research and innovation
- Railway network
At the same time, major discounts were made on projects concerning:
- National irrigation network
- Aerial means for crisis management
- Active policies for the labor market
- Excellence in universities and innovation
- Personal Doctor
- Social inclusion
- Digital transformation of tax and customs authorities
- Capacity of the financial system to finance the real economy.
- Northern Road Axis of Crete
- Restoration of accessibility after the severe weather events “Daniel” and “Elias”
- Energy storage
- Organizational reform of the railway sector
As regards the financing of businesses, and especially small and medium-sized ones, Mr. Papathanasis stated that of the total loans of 18 billion euros provided for by the program, 3 billion euros were directed to 17,000 small and medium-sized businesses.
An additional 2 billion euros transferred to the Hellenic Development Bank should be added to these 3 billion euros. Therefore, the 5 billion euros, or about 30% of the loans, concern small and medium-sized businesses.
However, if we take into account that 98% of businesses in Greece are about 700,000-800,000 and that 17,000 have been financed so far, then the RRF loans concerned 1% to 2% of small and medium-sized businesses. And that, provided all disbursements are completed, including by the Hellenic Development Bank.
And this issue also seems to have a συνέχεια, as, as we learn, PASOK will request detailed data on international tenders and especially on those in which only one interested party was found.
The continuation will show where the substance lies, where the noise is, and where the big words are.