- Volume 2 (2014), Issue 4
- Vol. 2 (2014), No. 4
- >
- Pages 353 - 361
- pp. 353 - 361
Reforming the Implementation Mechanism for Lean and Smart Management of ESIF
The Case of Greece
The findings from the application of Structural Funds in the programming period 2007-2013 have led the Greek State to decisions that will hopefully ensure a more efficient and intelligent management of the resources in the programming period 2014 - 2020. The simplification of the institutional framework for the implementation of co-financed projects that started in the mid of the 2007-2013 period, identified the most problematic areas of the whole implementation trail. As a fact, institutional and legislative interventions undertaken have already accelerated the absorption of EU funds (speeding (up) environmental and archaeological permits, expropriation, funding of the projects). In the context of the current redesign of the structure and management mechanism for the operational programmes (OPs) 2014-2020, the lessons learned from the past experience have led to specific interventions that focus both on the "architecture" of the operational programmes and on the mechanism for management and implementation. Major principles (see Box 1) adopted in the designing of the new implementation mechanism are as follows: