Brussels, 27/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, EU Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla and Greek Economy and Finance Minister Georges Alogoskoufis signed 13 operational programmes (OPs) at a ceremony in Brussels on Monday 26 November for the Greek regions. Total EU funding for all regions in Greece amounts to €20.3 billion. The Solidarity Fund will provide €9.3 million to offset the cost of flood damage in eastern Macedonia and north-eastern Thrace.
The ten OPs supported by the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund include four thematic programmes, five regional programmes and one technical assistance programme, representing €15.8bn of EU investment. A European Commission press release gives the details:
(1) Thematic Programmes: - competitiveness and entrepreneurship: €1.29bn for R&D, SMEs, energy and the environment; - improving accessibility; €3.7bn for transport infrastructure; - digital convergence: €860m for IT (tourism, navigation and culture); - the environment and sustainable development durable: €1.8bn for waste management and tackling air pollution;
(2) Regional Programmes: - Central Macedonia-Western Macedonia-Eastern Macedonia and Thrace: €2.67bn to help this region of south-eastern Europe by investing in entrepreneurship, innovation, knowledge, the environment, energy and the use of ITC by businesses and ordinary people; - Western Greece, Peloponnesus and Ionian Islands: € 914m for transport infrastructure, culture, healthcare, social affairs and the environment; - the Athens region: €2.4bn to develop the region, including the urban areas; - Thessalia, Sterea Ellada and Ipiros: €1.1bn for action to, for example, boost competitiveness and local products; - Crete and the Aegean Islands: €871m to generate income from tourism, improve the international transport infrastructure and invest in universities;
(3) Technical Assistance: €192m to support management of the programme.
See EUROPE 9550 on ESF initiatives. (G.B.)