Trade with Greece
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By Kostas Voutsadakis
NSRF 2014-2020:
The cornerstone
of Greece’s
economic
growth effort
With total public sector (EU and national) resources of 25 billion
euros, allocated along 20 operational programmes (7 sectoral
and 13 regional) the National Strategic Reference Framework
(NSRF) for the period 2014-2020 is the cornerstone of the
national economic growth effort for the next few years, when,
hopefully, Greece will return to positive growth rates.
Thus, eight sectors (Agri-food, Health-medicines,
ICT, Energy, Environment and sustainable develop-
ment, Transport, Materials-construction, Tourism,
Culture, Creative industries) will be given priority in
both operational and regional programmes in order
to maximise development results.
The financing priorities of NSRF 2014-2020 are
divided in five areas:
1. Enhancing business
competitiveness and
extroversion, shifting to qualitative entrepreneurship
spearheaded by innovation, and increasing domes-
tic added value; this includes:
• Transition to high added value activities;
• Creation of a business friendly environment to
attract investments;
• Capitalising on research and innovation to
strengthen the competitiveness of new and
existing businesses.
2. Development and utilisation
of human
resource abilities – active social inclusion:
• Education and life-long learning;
A
key feature of the new NSRF is its shift
away from infrastructure (which, nonethe-
less, still accounts for a substantial part of
the new programme) and towards investments
based on qualitative criteria, which will contribute
to the Greek economy’s sustainable growth. It is
specifically stated that the aim of the new pro-
gramme is “To contribute to revitalising the Greek
economy through the recovery and upgrading of
the productive and social fabric of Greece and the
creation and maintenance of the sustainable jobs,
spearheaded by outward looking, innovative and
competitive entrepreneurship and on the basis of
reinforcing social cohesion and the principles of
sustainable development.”
Another key element that differentiates the current
from previous programmes is the research-based
identification of those economic sectors that pres-
ent, or have the potential to create, competitive
edges and on which the available resources will be
focused.
