Two billion euros earmarked for the fire-stricken areas
Over -2 billion will be allocated to fund the program for the reconstruction and development of fire-stricken areas, which the government will present in a few days and Egnatia SA will implement. The plan will comprise two phases, sources say. The first will involve the reconstruction of the stricken prefectures and be funded with at least -700 to -800 million, mainly from the European Union’s Third Community Support Framework, the EU’s Solidarity Fund, the Public Investment Program, the Special Fund for Managing Emergencies that will manage people’s donations, and borrowing from the European Investment Bank. The second phase of the plan focuses on the development of those prefectures and will be funded primarily by the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF – as the Fourth Community Support Framework is officially named) with at least -1 billion. Relief funds The first phase of the plan, which will concentrate on reconstructing the production base of the stricken prefectures, will have CSF III as its main source of funding. The European Commission last Wednesday gave the green light for the following measures: – The extension of the period for the implementation of CSF III so that projects in those areas can be included and realized, thus facilitating the maximum possible absorption of all EU funds. – A further revision of CSF III with the transfer of funds totalling -500 million from projects dogged by delays to other ones, including those to be implemented in the devastated areas. – Financial aid from the EU Solidarity Fund. This Friday the Economy Ministry will host its first meeting with EU officials and representatives of the fund. The ministry will present a preliminary estimate of the damage sustained and examine how funds can be spent, in preparation for the application that Greece will send to Brussels in a few months. The Solidarity Fund does not cover losses relating to permanent infrastructures, but expenditure for provisional measures such as temporary housing and infrastructure. EU Commissioner Danuta Huebner said on Friday that Greece could receive up to -200 million from the Solidarity Fund. Another portion of the reconstruction cost will be met through low-interest borrowing from the European Investment Bank. The EIB announced yesterday that at the request by Economy Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis, it has approved a 20-year loan which will initially reach -100 million. When there is a more detailed estimate of the damage caused by the fires, it will determine the final amount of the loan to be given to Greece. The development phase will rely on the NSRF, from which -552 million will be given to the Western Greece Region and -414 million to the Peloponnese Region. Provision will also be made for the funding of several specific projects in the two regions. In order for the infrastructure projects to be funded from EU coffers and advanced rapidly, the government is considering assigning them to Egnatia SA.
