We applied in May and just received appointments in mid-January for main investors only.
Is it a money grab? Maybe. I doubt 6K Euros is very meaningful to a government. A more optimistic view is that for everyone who previously believed that “my clock already started” they want to rush to get the clock started again. Perhaps that is why they focus on main investors.
The recent legal changes are negative for the program, however other countries are also tightening their programs. I think it remains the best of a slim set of options for eventual citizenship mainly because the required time on the ground is only one week per year (assuming they keep that). If they do not uphold that then we would leave.