Data as of 3 July 2013. More statistics are available on www.espa.gr

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Belgium

• Simplify and reinforce coherence between employment incentives, activation policies, labour matching, education, lifelong learning and vocational training policies for older people and youth.

Bulgaria

• Accelerate the national Youth Employment Initiative, for example through a Youth Guarantee.
• Adopt the School Education Act and pursue the reform of higher education, in particular through better aligning outcomes to labour-market needs and strengthening cooperation between education, research and business.

Denmark

• Improve the quality of vocational training to reduce drop-out rates and increase the number of apprenticeships.

Estonia

• Continue efforts to improve the labour-market relevance of education and training systems, including by further involving social partners and implementing targeted measures to address youth unemployment.

Note: The data shows the percentage of the total funds allocated per Member State that has been paid by the Commission, on the basis of claims submitted and incudes the payments for territorial cooperation.

Data: European Commission

EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn will be in Greece from 12 to 13 June 2013. The main objective of this visit is to take stock of the progress regarding structural funds implementation as well as discussions on the forthcoming funding period. The Commissioner will start his programme with a visit to the region Eastern Macedonia-Thrace and then will continue in Athens where he will meet Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Minister for Regional Development Kostis Hatzidakis.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides up to EUR 500 million for trade finance to support foreign trade oriented small and medium sized companies (SMEs) in Greece. The EIB, as a long-term lender, has adapted to the needs of the real economy in Greece and enlarged its tool-kit with a short-term lending instrument to support international trade by Greek companies.