Programme under the Convergence objective co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Programme description
On 26 October 2007, the European Commission approved an Operational Programme for Greece for the period 2007-13. The programme "Digital Convergence" involves Community support for Greek regions that are eligible under the Convergence objective (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Thessaly, Ipeirus, Western Greece, Peloponnesus, Ionian Islands, Crete and North Aegean; the “Phasing-out” regions are not included).
The Operational Programme falls within the framework laid out for the Convergence objective and has a total budget of around €1.075 billion. Community assistance through the ERDF amounts to some €860 million, which represents approximately 4.2% of the total EU money invested in Greece under Cohesion policy 2007-13.
1. Purpose and aim of the programme
According to the National Strategic Reference Framework for the period 2007-13, Greece uses information and communication technologies (ICT) to a lesser extent than the 25 other EU Member States. During the last decade, ICT made no significant contribution to improving the country’s productivity or the quality of life of Greek citizens.
The overarching goal of the Operational Programme is to contribute to the digital convergence of Greece with the rest of the EU through the use of ICT. The programme will focus on implementing a customised developmental strategy with specific emphasis on competitive Greek sectors such as tourism, shipping, culture and sports
2. Expected impact of the investments
The Operational Programme "Digital Convergence" will contribute to reaching the objectives of the national "Digital Strategy 2006-13. It will notably contribute to saving 18 man-days for enterprises and 14 man-days for citizens in respect of transactions with public administrations. The programme will also increase ICT’s contribution to Greek GDP from 0.41% in the 1995-2003 period to 0.55% for 2005-13. The percentage of the population using the Internet for transactions with public services will increase from the 8% level in 2005 to 38% in 2013.
3. Priorities
The Operational Programme "Digital Convergence" is structured along the following two priorities:
Priority 1: Improved productivity through the use of ICT [46.7 % of total amount of funding]
Specific objectives of this priority include:
- improved ICT penetration in production processes combined with the development of innovative business practices targeting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Emphasis will be placed on using the country’s corporate human capital through the development of digitised educational material and the development of platforms and applications that manage and disseminate business content (“Business Gateways”);
- increased use of ICT in day-to-day company operations;
- the development of ICT applications to encourage entrepreneurship among women and people with special needs.
Priority 2: Improvement of citizens’ daily life through the use of ICT [51.4 % of total amount of funding]
Specific objectives of this priority include:
- equal access of citizens to ICT use and knowledge;
- increased availability of digital public services;
- the elimination of “digital gaps” caused by factors such as geography, age and gender;
- streamlining and digitisation of frequently used public services (especially the services included in the strategy “i2010”) as well as services offered by local public sector organisations;
- encouraging citizens to take part in community activities through the development of ICT applications targeting NGOs;
- promoting the cultural heritage of Greece;
- development of ICT applications and services that offer equal access for women and people with special needs.
Priority 3: Technical assistance [1.9 % of total amount of funding]
4. Managing Authority:
not designated yetFinancial information
Breakdown of finances by priority axis
| Priority Axis | EU Investment | National Public Contribution | Total Public Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improved productivity through the use of ICT | 402.000.000,00 | 100.500.000,00 | 502.500.000,00 |
| Improved productivity through the use of ICT | 442.000.000,00 | 110.500.000,00 | 552.500.000,00 |
| Technical assistance | 16.000.000,00 | 4.000.000,00 | 20.000.000,00 |
| Total | 860.000.000,00 | 215.000.000,00 | 1.075.000.000,00 |