Brussels, 14/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Given the promising outcomes in Greece of investment from the European structural fund, EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn urged Greek parliamentarians in Athens on Thursday 13 June to keep up the good work.
The Commissioner said that in recent years, more than €11 billion had been invested in Greek regions for projects that contribute to growth and jobs and it is estimated that, since 2007, the EU's regional policy has helped in the creation of some 111,000 jobs. Although this cannot compensate for all the job losses suffered in Greece, he said it had helped soften some of the impact of the economic crisis.
Hahn pointed out some of the measures taken at EU level to ensure that best use is made of the structural fund investment in Greece by injecting cash into the economy and financing big infrastructure projects. He also mentioned the budget surplus achieved in Greece in the first half of this year and the fact that confidence is picking up, which he described as two reasons to be cheerful.
The European Commission warns that this is not a time to rest on one's laurels and Hahn therefore suggests that the parliamentarians roll up their sleeves and focus on the 2014-2020 period of the cohesion policy. He said they should commit to cooperating with non-governmental organisations, representatives of the business world, local and regional authorities and government departments. He stressed the importance for Greeks of being prepared to establish new regional programmes at the start of next year, saying that agreement must be reached on the strategy for use of the funding as soon as possible to enable investment in projects and more liquidity to be injected into the real economy. (MD/transl.fl)