Ecofin: Lithuania to receive EUR 1.75 b in European loans, grants

VILNIUS - The EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels on Thursday approved an updated economic recovery plan "New Generation Lithuania", which provides for 1.75 billion euros of new investments, most of which will be loans.

"The Ecofin decision is the final one for Lithuania's access to concessional European loans. 

Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste says 1 billion euros will be allocated for business loans and other financial instruments, and more than 550 million euros will be provided in loans for electricity generation from renewable sources. A further 198.4 million euros will come as a grant from the RepowerEU initiative, the Finance Ministry said.

"We expect the first funds to reach the economy as early as the end of this year," the minister was quoted as saying in the statement.

After a fierce debate, on October 30, the Lithuanian government approved the updated plan agreed with the European Commission, despite differences with Brussels over the postponement of the tax reform deadlines for Lithuania when the Commission did not take into account the government's request to postpone the deadlines until early 2025.

The new plan adds new investments, including 2.3 billion euros in European grants and 1.55 billion euros in loans.

The delivery of the plan's commitments is linked to the receipt of funds under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The new investments are expected to boost real GDP growth by 0.97 percent on average, or 492.5 million euros per year, between 2023 and 2027.