Stathakis eyes EU money to help economy
Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis on Wednesday set an ambitious target for “the channeling into the real economy of resources amounting to 4.5 billion euros by the end of the year,” despite the liquidity problems created by the halt in state payments over the last few months.
Stathakis claimed that this amount of money will come from the Public Investment Program and concerns spending planned for projects included in the old and new European Union subsidy programs (of 2007-13 and 2014-20).
Although it is far from clear how these funds will be channeled, it is certain that the Economy Ministry’s priority is the European Commission’s disbursement of the remainder of the funds from the 2007-13 subsidy period after the country has been relieved of contributing 5 percent toward the program’s projects.
Another part of the expected funds concerns the disbursement of an increased advance payment, equal to 7 percent, that the Commission has promised regarding the funds to be allocated for the 2014-20 period. However, the Commission has stated that some of this money will not be disbursed before 2016.
