Greece's opposition party PASOK has accused the government of losing a major national opportunity through poor management of the European Union recovery fund.
The centre-left party launched a sharp critique against government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, noting that the administration has offered no refutation of a published list detailing more than 100 planned measures and actions that were either removed or left uncompleted under the national Greece 2.0 program.
PASOK highlighted that the administration itself requested a reduction in performance targets. The party added that ministers are now admitting that any projects removed from the Recovery Fund will be pushed onto the national budget and the European Strategic Reference Framework, known as ESPA.
Unanswered questions over 36 billion euros
With 36 billion euros in European funds made available to the Greek government, PASOK stated it would be unthinkable if no progress had been made at all. However, the party confirmed it had submitted 100 specific questions demanding to know why a wide array of projects promised in 2021 were stripped of EU financing.
In a statement released from its Harilaou Trikoupi headquarters in Athens, the party warned that completing delayed works through alternative public funds would deprive other essential local projects of needed capital. PASOK argued that the government is treating state reserves and EU structural funds as an inexhaustible piggy bank to dump stalled initiatives into, ignoring the real economic cost to local communities.
Limited support for small businesses
The opposition party also drew attention to the distribution of financial support, pointing out that loans from the Recovery Fund have reached just 2% of small and medium-sized enterprises across the country.
PASOK asserted that the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proved incapable of drafting a recovery plan suited to national requirements, failing even to execute the inadequate proposal it put forward in 2021. Concluding its critique, the party stated that the Recovery Fund represented a monumental national opportunity that the government ultimately squandered.
