Brussels, 19/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European regional development commissioner, Johannes Hahn, is preparing the ground in Greece for the next cohesion policy planning period. During a visit, on 19 October, he said it was no longer possible to continue operating as usual. The future structural funds in Greece should be put to the very best use and a course of action set out to achieve this.
Commissioner Hahn met the 13 governors of the Greek provinces on Friday 19 October. He informed them of his conviction that EU funds are currently the main public investment instrument in Greece. Funding can make a world of difference for the recovery of growth in that country, he said, adding that they have noted the considerable effort deployed to resolve problems relating to the complexity and the overload of EU fund management systems. Today, he went on, it is necessary to step up that effort and target investment which, as one knows, will give concrete results during this crucial period. For that, the commissioner wants to bear two words in mind during preparations for the next cohesion policy in 2014-2020 in Greece: - competitiveness and governance.
On one hand, it is necessary “to define the key sectors that will bring growth and jobs back to Greece. Greece does have know-how and expertise in sectors which are highly competitive and job-intensive”, Hahn said. He has in mind renewable energy technology, agri-food, sustainable tourism and aquaculture.
Furthermore, Hahn states that “reforms are needed in the business environment if Greece is to create the right conditions for its companies to prosper”. He is waiting for the public administration to become modernised in order to become more effective and less inclined to develop procedures that are unwieldy. According to Commissioner Hahn, SMEs must receive more support and, in particular, cohesion policy is able to help them. It is a matter of establishing the right business climate in Greece, he said, and to facilitate access by SMEs to financing.
“Identifying strategic sectors, implementing much needed reforms and facilitating access to finances for SMEs are the three ingredients which, if combined effectively, will be the keys to higher competitiveness in Greece”, the commissioner said during his speech to the 13 governors. He also trusts that recent administrative reform (Kallikratis) carried out in the country giving more responsibilities to the regions will give the country the possibility to make its regions engines for recovery and future growth.
Hahn was in Greece a little under a year ago. After the visit, 181 projects financed by the structural funds had been considered a priority, which warranted reprogramming of European funding. About 40 of them, however, are not yet up and running. Hahn has therefore urged the Greek authorities to intensify their efforts and to use the funding. (MD/transl.jl)