Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wearing a mask in Brussels, said he wanted the European Union to produce a recovery fund to deal with the aftermath of COVID-19 that could bring Greece 22.6 billion euros ($25.78 billion) in grants and 9.4 billion euros ($10.72 billion) in loans, ANA reports.
There is “absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t get a deal done,” he told journalists, adding however that “compromises will be necessary,” noted Kathimerini newspaper, adding that what’s on the table for Greece is “very positive.”
He wants most of the money to come in grants, not loans, as Greece had been just accelerating a slow recovery from a nearly decade-long economic and austerity crisis under his government when COVID-19 hit.
European Council President Charles Michel wants to tie some of the funding to the growth rate of the economy, with Greece’s expected to fall as much as 10.5 percent because it’s so reliant on tourism and visitors have been slow to come, fearful of traveling with the Coronavirus prevalent, even though far less in Greece.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
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