The Action Plan of the ministry of Economy and Development, which includes 142 actions and was presented at the beginning of November, specifies, per sector, the Ministry’s initiatives in implementing the National Development Strategy for a strong, sustainable and equitable growth. The Action Plan is available to all citizens via the ministry’s website (opens pdf, in Greek).

The Action Plan provides tools and solutions to the business world as well as to consumers and heavily indebted households; promotes partnerships between central, local as well as regional administration, whilst simpifying of procedures and consolidating best practices. With regard to actions that enhance entrepreneurship, investment and Greek business visibility, the Action Plan includes the following:

For businesses

Improving Business Environment: → Simplification of the procedures for establishing personal and capital companies though the οne-stop service” e-YΣΜ platform for remotely setting-up companies → Simplification of licensing procedures for economic activity through the online platform “notify business”  (46,500 companies have so far used the new licensing function) → Modernization of Company Law → Spatial Planning for setting up Business Parks and Organized Busines Incubators.

Development and Business Visibility: Personalized business support via the extra-judicial grievance mechanism, establishment of the Support, Development and Transformation Network for SMEs and the Business Support Centres within the Chambers of Commerce → Support for dynamic economic branches (Agro Food – Industry – Tourism Forum, Action Plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry, Register of Support Organizations for Startups) → Support for Export Enterprises (ugrade of Enterprise Greece website, establishment of an inter-ministerial Committee for Extraversion, formulation of the Export Perspectives Chart).

Business Financing: Financial Instruments and Programmes (Equifund Business Fund for the financing of new innovative companies in the form of share capital, NSRF financial programmes, National Entrepreneurship and Development Fund – ETAN)  → Hellenic Development Bank (expected to be fully operational within 2019).

For Investors

New Development Law: Creation of an integrated institutional framework aimed at reindustrialization and knowledge-intensive investment projects

Investment Strategies: Launching an attractive and functional institutional framework for targeted investments.

Attracting and maintaining Foreign Direct Investment: Organizing business visibility actions through Enterprise Greece → Promotion of targeted investment opportunities

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Developing an Integrated Strategy → Approval of 5 PPP projects worth € 300 million.

Investment Schemes & Tools: Fund of Funds of 4th Industrial Revolution, Products Made in Greece, Creative Industry, Alternative Energy.

International Economic Relations: Activating the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Greece →  Establishment of branch of the European Investment Bank in Greece

Investments for Balkan Co-Development: Proposal for the establishment of a “South East European Cooperation and Development Organisation” as an agency analyzing the region’s economy and the possibilities for cooperation.

For Citizens and Businesses – Effective Government

NSRF 2007-2013 and NSRF 2014-2020: Finding sources of funding for the completion of the 2007-2013 Programme projects → Full coverage of requirements (agreement terms and conditionalities) and securing the flow of NSRF funding 2014-2020 → Greece high on the list of Member States in terms of absorption of funds

Public Procurement: Inclusion of public procurements in the electronic system for the conduct of public tenders (National Electronic Public Procurement System), for transparency, acceleration of procedures and reduction of administrative costs → Implementation of the Central Public Procurement Management Plan.

Chambers of Commerce: Passing of Law 4497/2017 (clarification and modernization of the Chambers’ operational framework) → Establishment of the Regional Council of Chambers for the Harmonization / Synchronization of Chambers’ Development Activities with Larger Regional Planning.

Digital Governance: Upgrading the State Aid Information System to address structural weaknesses of the system → Establishment of a new Public Investment Programme platform (e-pde).

For the New Generation

Actions to tackle brain drain: Incentives for investments with high added value and knowledge intensive (new Development Law) → Boosting of new enterprises, R & D in enterprises etc. → Supporting academic and research excellence.

Establishment of the “Knowledge and Collaboration Bridges” e-platform: Connection of Greek scholars and entrepreneurs abroad with the Greek economy → Establishment within the next year of the award of the most important collaborations

Read more on growth policy in Greece via Greek News Agenda:

Article with infromation from: Communication Coordination Bulletin, Issue 11 (Nov. 2019), Independent Department of Strategic Planning & Interministerial Communication Coordination, Ministry Of Digital Policy, Telecommunications & Media – General Secretariat For Media & Communication.

Translation by Magda Hatzopoulos

I.L.

TAGS: RECOVERY