DEF IX-Gentiloni: Greece is one of the brighter spots on the European growth map

More specifically, he stated: "For Greece, it is the story of an extraordinary rebound made possible by the determination of the Greek people and of its successive governments. I am very proud to have been part of that story by putting an end to the enhanced surveillance of Greece in 2022, closing for good the 'memoranda era'. Last year, Greece regained investment grade status."

"Since the pandemic, economic growth has been well above the EU average," he added.

He also said that "we took bold new common measures to protect workers and kickstart the recovery, first with SURE then with NextGenerationEU."

Gentiloni explained that Greece is one of the main beneficiaries of this support. "For instance, at its peak in 2020, the SURE programme supported more than 40% of workers and firms in Greece and saved an estimated two hundred thousand jobs."

Moreover, "Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Plan is worth 36 billion euros. That is about 17% of GDP: more than any other EU country and roughly double the size of the post-War Marshall Plan."

It is an extraordinary display of European solidarity – of a Europe that stays true to its values and makes

good on its promise of economic convergence, the Commissioner underlined.

Gentiloni stressed the importance of making full use of the tools we have, starting with NextGenerationEU. "The opportunity is simply too great to be missed. For Greece, our estimates indicate that the full implementation of the recovery and resilience plan could provide an extra boost of up to 4.4% to its GDP by 2026."

As he said, Greece is among the group of Member States leading the way in the implementation of their national recovery and resilience plans. "It has already received more than 40% of the funds it is entitled to. Keeping up the

good pace we have seen so far also in the coming years will be crucial."