EIB-led loan agreement worth 80mln€ for lignite-laden western Macedonia region’s ‘green transition’

The Greek state and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday signed an 80-millio-euro loan agreement aimed to finance the western Macedonia region’s “green transition” amid the ongoing phase-out of lignite mining and its use as a fuel in local power stations.

A Development & Investments Ministry statement said the loan is in the form of a multi-sector framework, and will be funded through the Pillar III of the Just Transition Mechanism, the state or regional government budget (eight million euros), and by a credit lined of 58.1 million euros from the EIB.

The loan agreement cites a “new productivity model, under terms of social justice and sustainable development,” according to FinMin Christos Staikouras.