At the Second National Development Conference held in Athens on 9 December, John Bachtler presented a European assessment of the future strategic directions of EU Cohesion policy.
The Conference was held as part of the process of developing the Greek National Strategic Reference Framework (for the 2007-2013 period) and brought together over 200 representatives of national government departments, programme management bodies, agencies, economic and social partners and other organisations to discuss the first draft of the Framework and the proposals for future management of Structural and Cohesion Funds in Greece.
Based on EPRC research, John Bachtler's paper provided an overview of the progress being made with National Strategic Reference Frameworks in other countries, the strategic objectives and priorities emerging from national consultations and the possible foci of the future Operational Programmes. Further details on the preparations being made in Greece for the 2007-2013 are available here: