The European Commission Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness Jyrki Katainen said on Thursday that Greece ranks first among EU countries in terms of the investments triggered relative to its GDP through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
Katainen made the claim during a speech at a seminar on the EFSI organised by the European Commission, and added that Greece received a total of 2.7 billion euros in financing with the backing of the EFSI, which is expected to trigger 10.9 billion euros in additional investments.
The EFSI is supporting 18 approved infrastructure and innovation projects in Greece, which are financed by the European Investment Bank with EFSI backing. The total financing amounts to 2.3 billion euros that is expected to mobilise total investments of 7.2 billion euros.
The EFSI is also backing 12 approved agreements through intermediary banks, which are financed by European Investment Fund (EIF) with EFSI backing. The total financing given is 404 million euros, which is set to trigger approximately 3.7 billion euros in investments, with some 20,818 Greek SMEs and mid-cap companies expected to benefit from improved access to finance.
As an example of Juncker Plan support in Greece, Katainen referred to the 150-million-euro loan extended to Cosmote to expand its broadband network, or the 15 million euros in financing given to Creta Farm or the financing of Terna Energy wind farms in Viotia with 24 million euros.
