Brussels, 28/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted the Community support framework for "Objective 1" aid in Greece. This document determines the different sectors and activities that will benefit, between 2000 and 2006, from Community aid targeted at regions suffering from development shortfalls (GDP per inhabitant below 75% of Community average).
The priorities determined by the Greek CSF are: 1) actions in the field of education and training, 2) building of road, rail and urban infrastructures, 3) improvement of enterprise competitiveness, and especially SMEs, through a series of actions such as the spreading of innovation and the development of financial engineering, 4) support for the development of rural areas and reforms in the fisheries sector, 5) actions in favour of the environment, culture and health, 6) spreading of information technologies in schools, administration and the private sector.
The total amount of the Objective 1 aid for Greece is EUR 22.71 billion, which will be complemented with financing from the Greek authorities (11.20 billion) and the private sector (10.38 billion). The CSF will be implemented by "operational programmes", theme based or regional, that will specify the type of projects eligible, in accordance with axes defined by the CSF. The European Commission underlines that the management of the CSF and the operational framework "represents a challenge" for Greece. Each Member States is in fact responsible for managing European aid given to it. Greece, warns the Commission, "should rapidly implement adequate structures."