Greece’s 13 Key Reforms, Investments for Recovery

Photo source: Travel Trade Athens

Power grid expansion, energy efficiency, reforestation, and 5G infrastructure are just some of the 13 key reforms and investments – part of Greece’s recovery plan – presented by Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras at Tuesday’s Ecofin meeting.

Staikouras presented 13 key areas set to stimulate recovery in Greece which will move forward with a portion of the allocated 32 billion euros in funding from the EU’s Covid-19 Recovery Fund.

These are:

1. incentives for energy efficiency investments (homes, businesses, and the public sector)
2. linking the Greek islands with the main power grid and investments in energy storage
3. national reforestation plan and investments in biodiversity
4. 5G infrastructure, fiber optics infrastructure for buildings, digital connectivity of the Greek islands
5. digital transition of the public sector (health, education, justice), including infrastructure and central cloud computing services, digital interoperability within the general government, and comprehensive management of transactions with the general government
6. complete digitization of tax services, new ‘smart’ ways of fighting tax evasion (through AI, online monitoring), introduction of connected registers and POS machines with tax services, electronic pricing-receipts for the private sector
7. reforms to simplify business operations, facilitating entrepreneurship and investment activity
8. strong incentives for private investments in ‘green’ or digital transformation of SMEs, ‘smart’ industrial investments, extroversion, innovation/R&D
9. private-public partnerships in new large-scale infrastructure projects such as irrigation, train network upgrades etc
10. investments in culture, tourism and the agrifood sector
11. reforms in labor legislation (modernization and simplification), reforms in active and passive work policies, large-scale investments in career training and reskilling with emphasis on digital skills
12. investments in social integration of vulnerable groups, enabling access to the labor market for people with disabilities, facilitating the establishment of childcare units in private companies, and similar investments in education 
13. reforms in primary health care, upgrading hospitals and health centers, the implementation of a national public health and disease prevention program.

During the meeting, Staikouras also referred to projects that will be funded from a total of 13 billion euros in Recovery Fund loans.