Brussels, 25/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu is visiting Greece for the third time on 25-27 February in order to find an agreement both on the next steps for closing the 2007-2013 programming, and on the implementation of the programmes for the new period (2014-2020).
Cretu will address these issues with Greece's economy minister, Georgios Stathakis, and deputy economy minister, Alexis Charitsis. They are also due to discuss the concrete political actions to be taken in order to resolve some of the existing difficulties in transport infrastructure and to strengthen the competitiveness of the regions as part of the smart specialisation strategies (RIS3).
The issues to be addressed are certainly likely to include emblematic projects such as those relating to the motorways concession, the Thessalonica metro, waste management and sewage. The management of refugee flows and the use of the European Fund for Strategic Investments are also likely to be tackled.
On Friday, Cretu is due to meet the head of the special permanent committee for the regions of Vouli and to make a speech to the Delphi Economic Forum focusing on Greece's regional outlook for 2020-2030. On Saturday she is due to meet the governor of the Continental Greece region. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)