Budget of the European Union

The Bank of Greece forecasts slightly accelerated growth rates in 2024-2025, in its "Note on the Greek Economy" report, published on Monday. It forecast an increase in the country's gross domestic product by 2.2% from 2% in 2023, while in 2025 the rate is expected to increase to 2.5% of GDP before easing back to 2.3% in 2026.

The European Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Greece's fourth payment request for 998.6 million euros in grants (net of pre-financing) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centerpiece of NextGenerationEU, on Wednesday.

Last year the 27 EU member states averaged 0.4% growth. “The German economy even contracted by 0.3%, […] while France and Italy have so far failed to show any convincing growth momentum,” writes the German National Network of Journalists (RND).

The project “Internationalisation of educational services of higher education institutions” of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport is launched. It will be supported with a budget of 62 million euros.

European Union governments approved on Tuesday the first regular payment to Ukraine of 4.2 billion euros ($4.58 billion) of the €50 billion the EU has set aside as financial support for Kyiv, the governments, called the EU Council, said in a statement.

The European Commission on Tuesday proposed a new 1.5-billion-euro ($1.63 billion) defense industry program, which would be financed from the European Union budget for the period between 2025 and 2027.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has revealed startling figures regarding investigations into suspected fraud involving European Union funds in Bulgaria, with a staggering 203 cases under scrutiny, amounting to €884.9 million. According to a report for the year, the investigations shed light on concerning misuse of EU budget allocations within the country.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay and EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira signed the official authorization agreement for a 400 million euro aid package to be provided to Türkiye through the EU Solidarity Fund for the region affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes last year.

Today, EU leaders reached a rapid consensus on a €50 billion support package for Ukraine, breaking a deadlock that threatened crucial financial assistance for Kyiv. The breakthrough came after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had been obstructing the release of funds, conceded during intense negotiations at the extraordinary summit.

Leaders agree an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine under the EU budget