After sending a letter to the Greek authorities, the European Commission decided to take precautionary measures following the announcement on May 17th that the Greek Commission of Competition gave out regarding the existence of cartels in the construction sector. Due to that, the payments have temporarily stopped from the Cohesion Funds related to certain infrastructure projects in Greece.
The Commission considers this type of temporary payment stop “typical”, at least till there is a confirmation that the EU spending is normal, and within its budget. This process allows state members to provide more information and, if necessary, to take appropriate measures, in order for the payments to resume.
The European Commission expects the Greek authorities to provide more details on this case, and remains in close contact with them. They hope to resume the payment exchange as soon as possible for the benefit of the Greek economy.
The representative of the Commission, who called the amount of 13.5 mil. Euro “very small”, announced that the payment will resume once the Greek authorities send a “satisfying response to the Commission's letter”. It is worth reminding that Greece is favored 20 billion Euros, under the European Structural and Investment Funds for the time period of 2014 to 2020.