According to Laszlo Andor, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, as of July 2013, Greece has taken advantage f 59.12% of EU funds available for vulnerable social groups, namely 66.9 million euros.
Mr. Andor was quizzed by New Democracy’s MEP Papanikolaou, who stressed that Greece has used available funds to expedite the completion of a number of projects. The European Commissioner was optimistic that Greece would further increase its use of available funds, thanks to two new actions of the “human resources development” program which aim to support vulnerable social groups.
The first action involves the social and professional integration of unemployed members of vulnerable social groups on a local level, while the second aims to establish social structures such as food banks and daycare centers to reduce poverty.
Mr. Papanikolaou added that “European funds are an easy but effective source of investments to support the Greek economy and especially to support vulnerable social groups”. The main challenge for the country is to plan the timely use of the funds available for 2014-2020 in critical sectors of the economy, which contribute towards the improvement of social cohesion, by reducing the effects of the financial crisis.
