Brussels, 22/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 22 July, Greece reaffirmed its willingness to cooperate with the European institutions. This wish was expressed by its Minister for the Economy, Giorgos Stathakis, during a meeting with Commission Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis and the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, with a view to discussing assistance provided through European structural and investment funds, announced by the European Commission last week.
At the end of the meeting, the European Commission Vice President stated: “I will continue to work with the Greek authorities as part of the high level group guaranteeing that European funds for 2007-13 are used before the expiry date and to facilitate Greek access to European funds programmes for the 2014-20 period”.
Cretu was pleased that “our meeting with Minister Stathakis was both friendly and productive”. She indicated that further and continuous dialogue had been decided on with Greece, in view of maximising the benefits of Cohesion Policy. Once the programme is adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, the Commissioner provided assurances that cooperation would be stepped up with the Greek authorities in this connection.
The Greek Minister explained that his country would fully and immediately cooperate with the Commission services in an effort to absorb the funds for the 2007-13 period and “use the new modified measures in optimum conditions”.
Last week, the European Commission announced that around €35 billion had been earmarked, including almost €20 billion from European funds. These measures included co-financing of 100% for the 2007-2013 period, the immediate release of 5% of the agreed budget before the 2017 expiry date and pre-financing that has been increased by 7% within the framework of Cohesion Policy (see EUROPE 11360).
At the end of March 2015, a high-level group was set up to help the country absorb the 2007-13 funds before the end of the year. The country also obtains technical support as part of the Structural Reform Support Service that has been operational since 1 July, in an effort to prepare the country's operational programmes for 2014-2015.
The two Commissioners and the Greek Minister also looked at preparations for and the submission of future Greek projects contained within the Juncker Commission investment plan. (Pascal Hansens)