The regional dimension of the Community Support Framework 2000-2006 for Greece: a first assessment

Abstract

This paper attempts a first assessment of the regional dimension o f the Third Community Support Framework fo r Greece. The main conclusion is that the Third CSF, despite the fact that it comprises a specific strategic goal regarding the decrease of regional disparities, does not integrate a concrete regional development strategy. The financial resources earmarked for the different regions, both through the Priority Axis which specifically targets the regional inequalities and the other, sectoral, Axes, is not related to the growth level (GDP per capita) of those regions. The same is true, for the totality of the Axis, regarding the actual distribution of resources through the inclusion and financing of particular projects. As a result, it is estimated that the impact of the Third CSF upon the regional disparities will be haphazard and unsystematic. The low level of these disparities in Greece maybe reduces but
does not eliminate the importance of this failure of the programmatic process.