Greece was represented by Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis at the Informal Ministerial Meeting on Cohesion Policy, focusing on Insularity and the Right to Stay in My Home (“Right to Stay”), held in Nicosia as part of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU.
In his remarks, Mr. Papathanasis highlighted the need to address demographic and development challenges by boosting employment, infrastructure, and access to housing and services. He also highlighted the priority Greece places on a new European policy framework that will ensure equal opportunities for all regions, with special attention to islands, mountainous, and remote areas. He also emphasized the need to develop a comprehensive European strategy that addresses the specific needs of these regions in order to substantially strengthen territorial and regional cohesion.
The European Union’s future strategy for islands must be based on place-based policies that take into account the specific characteristics of island regions. Persistent regional inequalities and demographic pressures heighten the risk of further weakening the region and make it necessary to take targeted measures, he emphasized.
Mr. Papathanasis also presented initiatives related to insularity that are currently underway in Greece and funded by European resources, such as “GRecoISLANDS.” A strategic initiative of the NSRF 2021-2027, with a budget of 230 million euros, through various programs and collaboration across all levels of government, addresses for the first time in a comprehensive rather than fragmented manner with the aim of establishing a sustainable development model for local communities on small islands in the North Aegean, South Aegean, and Ionian Islands regions, in the initial phase.
The informal Nicosia Summit marked a significant milestone in promoting a more coherent and targeted European approach, where the strategy for the islands and the “Right to Stay” —as a concept complementary to the right to mobility, aimed at ensuring that the choice to remain is not a restriction but a substantive opportunity for development—are directly linked to the future of Cohesion Policy and the social and territorial cohesion of the European Union, the Ministry of National Economy and Finance notes in a statement.