Greek Structural Programme Loan Operation-Lessons Learnt on the ...

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK 

RISC Consortium and the UNU-CRIS Summer School/ 

Students Research Symposium, 3 rd July 2012, Luxembourg 

<strong>Greek</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Programme</strong> <strong>Loan</strong> operation – 

<strong>Lessons</strong> learnt on the <strong>Greek</strong> social capital 

Sebastian Hyzyk 

PJ/ERD/REGU European Investment Bank 

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<strong>Lessons</strong> learnt on the <strong>Greek</strong> social capital 

Outline 

<strong>Greek</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Programme</strong> <strong>Loan</strong> 

Definitions and concepts 

Cases on social capital in Greece 

Concluding remarks 


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EU Funds Co-financing 2007-2013 – Greece 

Project cost: EUR 21.5bn 

<strong>Loan</strong> amount: EUR 2.0bn (9%) 

Duration of loan: 25 years 

Borrower/Promoter: Hellenic Republic 

Implementation period: 2007-2015 


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EIB framework loan supports the implementation of 

the <strong>Greek</strong> National Strategic Reference Framework 

2007-2013: 

OP Environment and Sustainable Development 

OP Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship 

OP Digital Convergence 

OP Development of Human Resources 

OP Education and Lifelong Learning 

5 regional OPs 

PATHEP Railway Corridor 


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Expected benefits: 

SPL will cater to the recovery and sustainable 

development of the <strong>Greek</strong> economy 

acceleration of implementation 

EU Funds absorption crucial for the <strong>Greek</strong> 

economy 

EIB Technical Assistance, in particular in 

challenging sectors such as water and waste 

management 


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At the appraisal stage numerous risks identified 

Risk Assessment and Mitigation Action Plan 

was requested 

EIB also provided Technical Assistance for the 

Project Implementation Unit 


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Social capital 

J.S. Coleman – variety of entities, which consist of 

social structures and facilitate certain actions of actors 

(persons or corporate) within the structure 

e.g. rules, norms, relationships, associations, networks, 

behavioural codes 

R. Putnam – features of social organisations, such as 

networks, norms and trust, that facilitate action and 

cooperation for mutual benefit 

Individual and/or collective (civicness) 


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Transactions 

Macro 

Collective action 

Institutions 

Rules 

Norms 

Conventions 

Behavioural codes 

Formal 

Informal 

Social networks 

Associations 

Individual relations 

Trust 

Reputation 

Information 

Micro 

Cooperation 

Source: R. Camagni, in R. Capello, P. Nijkamp (eds) Handbook of Regional Growth and Development Theories 


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Institutions 

(D. North) formal (rules, 

laws) and informal 

constraints (norms, 

codes) including 

mechanisms of their 

enforcement 

Embeddedness: informal 

institutions, customs, 

traditions 

(100 years and more) 

Institutional environment 

(10 to 100 years) 

Governance, contracts 

(1 to 10 years) 

Resource allocation and 

employment 

(continuous) 

Source: O. Williamson, The New Institutional Economics… 

, 

European Investment Bank 

PJ/ERD/REGU 9

Trust and cooperation 

Well-functioning public administration in Greece 

is a requirement 

Type of entity 

Personnel 

Central Government 1,809 

Ministries and associated entities (hospitals, schools etc.) 634,154 

Regions 15,785 

Municipalities 95,547 

Local entities/municipal companies 14,775 

In general high technical capacity of individuals, 

but… 

…lack of effective human resources 

management (demotivation) 


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<strong>Lessons</strong> learnt on the <strong>Greek</strong> public administration 

Lack of empowerment of middle management 

Lack of delegation of authority 

Clusterisation of information 

Political appointments 

Lack of trust between civil servants and political 

authority 


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Day-to-day running of the administration is done 

on a political level and regular political changes 

hinder continuity of actions 

Ownership of the reform is lost at the middle 

management level 

Administration is too formalised 

Weak follow-up of the implementation of 

policies 


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Little coordination between and within the 

ministries 

Fragmentation and overlaps among structures 

Cooperation based on personal networks 


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Trust 

Need for better regulation and governance 

complex legal framework 

legal formalism established to secure integrity, but… 

time consuming licensing (environmental impact 

assessment) 

litigation procedures (expropriation, public 

procurement) 

inappropriate individual behaviours 


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Associations 

Associations in water sector 

Water sector suffers from fragmentation 

Small beneficiaries lack capacity 

Positive experience - EDEYA (Hellenic Union of Municipal 

Enterprises for Water Supply and Sewerage) 

EIB suggested to strengthen the environment by 

promoting networking among Water Boards to exchange 

experience in operation and maintenance (twining 

partnerships) 

professional training and certification for blue collar workers 

strengthening consulting industry by conferences and 

guidelines 

publishing annual benchmark report 


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Networking 

Networking 

EC Task Force for Greece 

Member States and IMF support in the areas of 

administrative reform, taxation and budget, justice, 

anti-money laundering, e-governance, 

anti-corruption, human resources management 

benchmarking opportunity 

transfer of know-how 

EIB is also providing Technical Assistance 


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Concluding remarks 

Social context constraints the economic activity 

(Lack of) social capital has an impact on the 

project preparation and implementation in 

Greece and subsequently on the regional 

development 


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THANK YOU 

Sebastian Hyzyk 

Project Directorate 

Environment and Regional Development Department 

Regional and Urban Development Division 

hyzyk@eib.org 


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Greek Structural Programme Loan Operation-Lessons Learnt on the ...

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