ATHENS — Μargaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for the Promotion of the European Way of Life, described the creation of the Recovery Fund as a historic initiative, speaking at the 8th Development Conference, co-organized by newspaper "Peloponnisos" and Western Greece region.

As he said during the conference "European Union, Greece, Recovery: New Tools for the New Age", the proposal we decided at the College of Commissioners on May 27 is an unprecedented act, which has solidarity at its core.

At the same time, as he pointed out, "it is a historic moment, for two reasons" and he explained: "First, for the unprecedented amount of the funds: The European Commission proposes a new budget – the so called multiannual fiscal framework for the period 2021-2017 of total amount 1.9 trillion euros which includes 750 billion euros for the recovery tool – Next Generation EU, two-thirds of which are subsidies, not loans.

Secondly, because for the first time, the partners are taking on the burden of recovery through the EU budget as a whole, without forcing the already burdened economies of the south to borrow individually to overcome a crisis involving the EU as a whole."