€35 billion for Greece mobilised; progress towards Energy Union

The Commission mobilises additional €35 billion support for Greece. It also presents a new deal for energy consumers and proposes to re-shape the European electricity market, update energy efficiency labelling and revise the EU Emissions Trading System.

Vice-President Dombrovskis i and Commissioner Creţu i during the press conference

Two days after an agreement at the Euro i summit paving the way for a new support programme for Greece, today the European Commission revealed plans to help Greece maximise its use of EU funds. As mandated by the Euro Summit on 12/13 July, this will help mobilise more than €35 billion to support the Greek economy up to 2020.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker i said: "Greece has already received more international financing than all of Europe did from the U.S. Marshall Plan after the Second World War. We are willing to step this up even further to help Greece unleash a significant economic rebound and to give the proposed reforms the best chance to work: these €35 billion can help make Greece an attractive location for investment and give hope to especially the younger generation. After at times painstaking months of negotiations, we now need to look to the future. This new start for jobs and growth is the Commission's contribution. I trust the European Parliament and Member States will play their part so we can unlock the money swiftly."

In relation to Greece the Commission proposed to use the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) to secure urgently needed bridge-financing before the new support programme kicks in.

Today the College also adopted a Climate and Energy Summer package that provides a new deal for consumers, launches a redesign of the European electricity market, updates energy efficiency labelling and revises the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS i).

The package is an important step towards implementing the Energy Union strategy with a forward looking climate change policy, launched as one of the political priorities of the Juncker Commission i in February 2015.

The College of Commissioners also held an orientation debate on the Work programme for 2015 where they focused on the priorities set out in the President's Political Guidelines and took stock of what will be done in 2015 and 2016. The Work Programme gives a high degree of importance to reviewing the existing stock of EU legislation and ensuring that all our laws are fit for purpose.

The Commission also imposed a fine of € 49 million on a cartel of cargo train operators.