ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece will sign a deal with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday to set up a fund that will help its tourism-reliant islands wean off fossil fuel and reduce power costs, the Greek government said. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met EIB’s Chair Nadia Calviño on Thursday. […]
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece will sign a deal with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday to set up a fund that will help its tourism-reliant islands wean off fossil fuel and reduce power costs, the Greek government said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met EIB’s Chair Nadia Calviño on Thursday. Mitsotakis will attend a ceremony for the signing of the agreement on the island of Naxos later in the day, his office said late on Wednesday.
Most of Greece’s rocky and sun-drenched islands in the Aegean and the Ionian Sea depend on costly oil-fired stations to generate electricity.
The aim of the deal is to allow Greece mobilise about 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion) to speed up the construction of power links and wind and solar stations with batteries on the islands, officials said on condition of anonymity.
The EIB has invested nearly 50 billion euros in small and medium-sized companies, infrastructure, tourism and energy in Greece since 1963.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou; editing by David Evans)
