The Ministry of Development and Competitiveness is organizing on 24th - 25th April 2014 in Athens the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers responsible for Cohesion Policy.

One of the key priorities of the Greek Presidency is “to launch the dialogue on those specific subject areas that offer high growth potential and, at the same time, job creation, such as innovation and services to firms”. The Greek Presidency is actively seeking progress on policies and actions that promote economic, social and territorial cohesion in full alignment with the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The main topic of meeting’s agenda will be the “support to SMEs’”. The discussion will particularly focus on the crucial issue of liquidity and access to finance for the SMEs’, the simplification of their access to public funds and the improvement of the environment in which SMEs operate with the support of the Structural funds and other instruments. For that reason, EIB and the IIF, as well as European representatives of SMEs have been invited to share their views.

The meeting will start on 24th of April 2014 with a working dinner on urban issues, where the European Commission’s proposal on the European Urban Agenda and the role of cities as catalysts in creation of more growth and jobs will be discussed.