European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), Cohesion Fund (CF), and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF): specific measures for Greece

The European Parliament adopted by 586 votes to 87, with 21 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as regards specific measures for Greece.

Parliament considered that the proposed amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, aimed at providing immediate support to Greece by enabling it to access and use before the end of 2015 Union funding for cohesion policy still available from the 2007-2013 programming period, and therefore its adoption is urgent.

The position adopted by the Parliament at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure provides the following:

• in order to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016, it is appropriate to increase the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial pre-financing amount of 3.5% of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period shall be paid to operational programmes in Greece each year in 2015 and 2016;
• in order to improve the effective use of available funding for the financing of operations under operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives supported by the Funds which were adopted for the 2007-2013 period in Greece, the maximum co-financing rates should be increased and the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period raised.