"We are now entering a phase where our economy and our country have important financial tools at their disposal to make the big leap into the future. To be able to deal with the major consequences of a global crisis, the product of a war, of a totally provocative and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has so disrupted the world markets, the global supply chain in the global energy markets", Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed during his speech at the development conference for the new NSRF 2021/27 in Kalamata.

"This is a €26.2 billion funding programme. This complements other important financial instruments: the Recovery Fund, the Recovery Plan "Greece 2.0", with total appropriations exceeding 30 billion euros. And together with the new Common Agricultural Policy, which secures the income of our farmers but at the same time helps them to make the transition to an environmentally friendly agriculture, but also in conjunction with the "Connecting Europe" initiative, we are talking about a a total "savings bank" of up to 80 billion euro. Eighty billion euros. It is a source of development capital that has virtually no precedent in post-war Greece".

8 billion euros to small and medium-sized entrepreneurship in the new NSRF 2021/27

Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a special point on the resources that will be channeled to small and medium-sized enterprises. "The Competitiveness Programme is important. Important for all businesses. It will mainly concern small and medium-sized enterprises, it will give us additional resources for important investments in tools digitisation of production, boosting exports, producing more green energy in an environment of rising energy costs. But also for the in-house training of employees. A total of more than 8 billion will be directed to small and medium-sized entrepreneurship over the next 5 years. From the NSRF, from "Greece 2.0" but also from the agricultural funds", he underlined.

We have the tools to design innovative social policies

The Prime Minister also referred to the strong social dimension of the programmes under way. "We now have at our disposal all the necessary financial tools to be able to design innovative policies, such as the extension of the hours of our primary schools, such as the "Nannies of the neighborhood", the Personal Assistant, a personal bet that I had made and a commitment to people with disabilities, so that they themselves can choose a person who will be able to support them for the independent living they deserve, but also to relieve their families of this obligation, because until now families have covered the need for a Personal Assistant", he said characteristically.

1/3 of the resources for the new NSRF 2021/27 for projects in the regions

"As I had promised to the Regional Governors and pre-election, one third of the NSRF resources are now committed to projects in the Regions. We have said it, we are putting it into practice. It is the right political choice, as Greece to this day is considered as one of the most centralized member-states of the European Union. We are talking about amounts exceeding 8 billion euros, more than 2 billion more than in the current period. The 2021/27 actions are already underway. Four sectoral programmes and 13 regional projects. First in Europe - it has already got the 'green light' is the Competitiveness Programme. The rest of the approvals follow very soon. So that Greece is the first European country with the new NSRF 2021/27 fully approved", the Prime Minister noted.

Greece is now leading in the absorption of Community funds through the financial programme

Kyriakos Mitsotakis also stressed that the implementation of the new NSRF 2021/27 is done in such a way that leaves behind pathogenesis of the past. "Our country, thanks to the excellent work done by the entire staff of the Ministry of Development and Investments, now plays a leading role in the absorption of European funds. With disbursement rates that have been setting a continuous record since the summer of 2019. Apart from the sizes, however, I would like to stress the qualitative upgrade in the utilization of resources. I remind you that during the pandemic we achieved in record times approvals from Brussels, so that we can redirect resources for the new NSRF 2021/27 towards urgent actions against Covid. We have thus mobilised, alongside private leverage, more than 13 billion euro. Funds which were integrated into the national plan to support employment, businesses and households. This proves that with proper, flexible management, European funds can indeed work for the benefit of all European citizens. Cohesion policy for 2021/27 will also be based on this basis, when the current support framework comes to an end. The Greece in fact it is the first member state to receive a positive response to the Partnership Agreement for Cohesion Policy. This is how the old NSRF will be called from now on", he pointed out.