DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIESB POLICY DEPARTMENT AgricultureAgriculture and Rural and Development Rural Development STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES B CultureCulture and Education and Education Role The Policy Departments are research units that provide specialised advice Fisheries to committees, inter-parliamentary delegations and other parliamentary bodies. Fisheries RegionalRegional Development Development Policy Areas TransportTransport and andTourism Tourism Agriculture and Rural Development Culture and Education Fisheries Regional Development Transport and Tourism Documents Visit the European Parliament website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies PHOTO CREDIT: iStock International Inc., Photodisk, Phovoir DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL SITUATION OF GREECE NOTE This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development. AUTHOR Dr. Esther KRAMER Policy Department Structural and Cohesion Policies European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Ms Lea Poljančić LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN Translation: EL ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its monthly newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in June 2011. Brussels, © European Parliament, 2011. This document is available on the Internet at: www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL SITUATION OF GREECE NOTE Abstract This Note provides an overview of Greece's economic, political and administrative framework for EU Cohesion policy, as well as of the state of play of the implementation of the National Strategic Reference Framework for the period 2007-2013. It focuses in particular on the regions of Central Macedonia, Epirus and West Macedonia. The note has been prepared in the context of the Committee on Regional Development's delegation to Greece, 13 - 15 July 2011. IP/B/REGI/NT/2011_03 June 2011 PE 460.052 EN Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of Greece ___________________________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5 1. KEY FACTS AND FIGURES 9 1.1. Government and politics 10 1.2. The economy 10 1.3. Regional disparities in Greece 11 2. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES IN TRANSITION 13 2.1. Institutional framework for EU Cohesion policy 15 2.2. State of play of the implementation of EU Cohesion policy 16 3. EU COHESION POLICY IN GREECE 2007-2013 19 3.1. Objectives, priorities and funds 19 3.2. NSRF and Operational Programmes in Greece 21 3.3. European Territorial Cooperation objective 23 4. ZOOM ON THE REGIONS OF WEST MACEDONIA, CENTRAL MACEDONIA AND EPIRUS 27 4.1. The region of West Macedonia (Dytiki Makedonia) 27 4.2. The region of Central Macedonia (Kentriki Makedonia) 30 4.3. The region of Epirus (Ipeiros) 33 CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK ON GREECE'S ROLE IN COHESION POLICY AFTER 2013 37 REFERENCES 39 3 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 4 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of Greece ___________________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CF Cohesion Fund EIF European Investment Fund ERDF European Regional Development Fund ESF European Social Fund EU European Union EUR Euro GDP Gross domestic product IMF International Monetary Fund IPA Instrument for Pre Accession Assistance JEREMIE Joint European Resources for Micro and Medium Enterprises JESSICA Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas MoU Memorandum of Understanding NCA National Coordination Authority OP Operational Programme PASOK Panhellenic Socialist Movement 5 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 6 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of Greece ___________________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Map of Greece 9 Figure 2 Key Data 9 Figure 3 7 new decentralised administrations of Greece 13 Figure 4 13 Peripheries (regions) of Greece 14 Figure 5 Targets of absorption according to MoU (in million EUR) 17 Figure 6 Attribution of EU funds for Greece in billion EUR 2007–2013 19 Figure 7 Map showing Convergence and Competitive Objective regions in Greece 20 Figure 8 NRSF of Greece 2007-2013 (EUR) 22 Figure 9 Map indicating the location of West Macedonia in Greece and details of the region 27 Figure 10 Peripheral units and municipalities of West Macedonia 28 Figure 11 Thematic overview of EU Structural funds implementation in Western Macedonia 29 Figure 12 Maps indicating location of Central Macedonia in Greece and details of the region 30 Figure 13 Central Macedonia's peripheral units (former prefectures) 31 Figure 14 Thematic Overview of EU Structural funds implementation in Central Macedonia (EUR) 32 Figure 15 Maps indicating location of Epirus in Greece and details of the region 33 7 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 16 Peripheral units and 18 new municipalities of Epirus 34 Figure 17 Thematic Overview of EU Structural fund implementation in Epirus (EUR) 35 8 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of Greece ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. KEY FACTS AND FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Greece Source: www.lonelyplanet.com Greece is located in southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey. Figure 2: Key Data 2 Area 131 957 km 11,305,118 (2010) Population 86 (2008) Population density (per km2) Greek Official language Currency Euro 94 (2009) GDP per capita (PPS) -2,3 (2009), - 4,5 % (2010) Growth rate 14,1 % (2010) Unemployment rate 4,7 % (2010) Inflation rate - 15,4 % (2009); -10,5 % (2010) Budget deficit 142,8 (2010) Public debt Source: EUROSTAT 9 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.1. Government and politics Greece is a parliamentary republic. The current constitution was drawn up and adopted by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975, after the fall of the military junta of 1967–1974. It has been revised twice since, in 1986 and in 2001. According to the constitution, executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the government. The nominal head of state is the President of the Republic, who is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term; currently it is Karolus Papoulias. In 1986, the President's duties were curtailed to a significant extent and political power now lies in the hands of the Prime Minister who heads the Council of Ministers, the national government. Legislative powers are exercised by a 300-member single-chamber Parliament, with elections held every four years, except if the Cabinet proposes early elections in view of dealing with a national issue of exceptional importance or in case of a motion of no confidence passed by the opposition which obliges the President to dissolve the Parliament earlier. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation, the Council of State and the Court of Auditors. Since the restoration of democracy, the Greek two-party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (ND) and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Other significant parties include the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS). PASOK gained an absolute majority in Parliament at the general election on October 4th 2009, with 160 out of 300 seats. On September 7th 2010, Prime Minister Papandreou reshuffled his cabinet, incorporating some party stalwarts into the new administration. In March 2011, Mr. Papandreou sought support from opposition party leaders for the government’s implementation of structural reforms, but his request was rebuffed. In recent months, there has also been internal party opposition as senior members of PASOK - which has a history of intra-party rivalry - have spoken out against reform measures. Political instability could grow as the government continues to push through difficult, unpopular measures. Moreover, in 2010 and 2011 numerous general strikes and social unrest have affected the political scene, and it will be increasingly difficult for the government to continue to implement painful austerity measures in the face of social and industrial unrest, without opposition support and with division between