Η αναθεώρηση των Περιφερειακών Επιχειρησιακών Προγραμμάτων για την Αξιοποίηση πόρων ΕΣΠΑ στην αντιμετώπιση των επιπτώσεων της πανδημίας στην κοινωνία, στην υγεία και στην οικονομία, βρίσκεται ψηλά στην ατζέντα του Υπουργείου Ανάπτυξης και Επενδύσεων.

Utilization of NSRF resources

In this context, the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments, Giannis Tsakiris, and the Secretary General of Public Investments and NSRF, Dimitris Skalkos, in a letter sent on April 7 to the Regions, requested speed up procedures for the proper utilization of the resources of their Operational Programmes, with priority the implementation of the measures and actions that have been announced and those that are planned nationwide, to address the economic and social consequences of the coronavirus.

The aim of the Ministry of Development and Investments, through cooperation with the Regions, is to secure as many resources as possible in order to direct them to the fields of health, education and labor, but also to support all businesses and employees in all regions.

In this context, the Regions have been asked to prioritize their projects, while for projects that have already started (contracted) they should continue at the maximum possible rate of their implementation in order to ensure their timely completion within the current programming period.

In the teleconference that took place on Wednesday, April 8, and in which all the Regional Governors participated, the Deputy Minister Mr. Tsakiris said these actions follow a decision by the European Commission to amend the regulations in order to provide more flexibility in the management of the available resources of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).

Moving resources to deal with the impact of the pandemic, follows the logic of revision of the Operational Programmes. The review would take place at the beginning of the summer and during which resources, from both Sectoral and Regional Programmes, would be reallocated between actions and programmes with the aim of effectively absorbing the funds from mature, directly implementable projects.