Brussels, 04/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - During a conference organised in Athens on Thursday 4 April on the use of EU funds for the next programming period (2014-2020), the European commissioner for regional policy, Johannes Hahn, bemoaned the fact that austerity measures imposed in Greece have been hitting the headlines, thus eclipsing efforts made by the country to revive growth. He went on to speak of the strength of purpose of the Greek people who have shown they are “determined to persist and succeed in building a better future”. He underlined that there are many challenges to be faced, and said that cohesion policy could be a useful tool for transforming the country. “The issue is not just how to give money to address an urgent problem, but to emphasise on innovation and entrepreneurship”, he explained.
Hahn welcomed the development of regional policy, mainly through the “intelligent specialisation” strategy which identifies sectors that present the highest potential in growth and allows regions to focus their efforts on those sectors, in order to become more competitive. The Greek minister for development, Costis Hatzidakis, said, moreover, that each region would have its own development programme and that there would be fewer national programmes.
Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, on the other hand, who was quoted by the AMNA agency, said that the first signs of recovery were already visible. In his opinion, the year 2013 will be a pivotal year leading to growth.
“Coming out of a crisis requires sacrifices, strong will and determination”, said Commissioner Hahn, going on to add: “Difficult times bring a lot of hardship but at the same time they hide an opportunity for change and making things better”. (EL/transl.jl)