The Special Secretariat for the Development of International Programmes was incorporated in the Foreign Ministry’s structure in July 2007.

Its mission is targeted at coordinating and promoting Greece’s participation in programmes in third countries that are co-financed by European and international funding mechanisms, as well as making optimum use of EU funds related to the Foreign Ministry’s activities aimed at promoting foreign policy objectives. Within this framework, it also seeks to exploit the possibilities offered by other international and national economic resources, using its expertise to benefit Greek businesses and NGOs.

The Special Secretariat’s responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Foreign Ministry’s Special Secretariat for the Development of International Programmes (Government Gazette vol. B 333 / 26.03.2010) include:

·         Strategic planning, coordination and monitoring of operational programmes under Law 3614/2007 (G.G. vol. Ά 267) so that they can be used by the Foreign Ministry through the Special Coordination and Implementation Service of Co-Funded Programs (EYSXEP) which operates under the Foreign Ministry’s Special Secretariat pursuant to applicable legislation;

·         Coordination of activities by Greek agencies relating to co-funded programmes in third countries, carried out by international organisations or with European funds and participated in by Greece. In this direction, the Secretariat works jointly with co-competent Foreign Ministry Directorates and Missions abroad in order to determine the priorities and areas of particular Greek interest as well as support the activities of the Secretariat General for International Economic Relations and Development Cooperation;

·         in general, representing the Foreign Ministry to national, international and European authorities regarding investment issues and financing of the Foreign Ministry’s co-funded programmes and activities;

·         strategic planning, scheduling and coordination of European Territorial Cooperation programmes, (coordination and monitoring of the Operational Programme’s strategic priorities under Objective 3), in cooperation with competent Ministries.

·         tracing projects to be funded and submitting the relevant proposals, as well as conducting the necessary research/studies on their implementation;

·         coordinating different Foreign Ministry Directorates in order to facilitate the Ministry’s participation in programmes that are under the competency of the Special Secretariat;

·         contributing to the drafting of proposals on issues relating to the Community Budget and the EU’s Financial Perspectives, and

·         carrying out special missions assigned to it by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

The Special Secretariat’s objectives

First of all, to coordinate programmes participated in by Greece in order to bolster the system’s efficiency and effectiveness and promote foreign policy objectives by:

- fleshing out foreign policy with new tools for conducting its work; taking stock of Greek contributions to international programmes and our experience from these contributions by improving our contributions, on the one hand, and by capitalising on the experience gained in order to form integrated proposals for cooperation programmes within the framework of new initiatives on foreign policy (e.g. Agenda 2014 for the Western Balkans, green diplomacy).

- strengthening cooperation and networking (within the framework of the modernisation of the Foreign Ministry’s structure and general organizational reform): a) between competent Foreign Ministry Directorates (e.g. on European Affairs, bilateral political and economic relations), b) between the Foreign Ministry’s central services, our country’s diplomatic missions abroad and our Permanent Mission to the EU and c) between competent Foreign Ministry services and co-competent Ministries.

- making the most of public-private partnerships by providing information, consultancy and networking services.

Furthermore, the Special Secretariat’s objective is to gradually improve registering/capturing the interest in existing programmes in each country or region (creating country profiles), in order to determine the priorities and areas of particular Greek interest per country or per region.

Through its participation in Operational Programmes under the NSRF, such as O.P. “Digital Convergence” and “Administrative Reform 2007-2013”, the Foreign Ministry aims at:

- bolstering the development of mechanisms to upgrade efficiency and effectiveness (e.g. the Ministry’s structural, organisational, and functional modernization as well as the reinforcement and adaptation of its human resources)

- using new technologies and ICT with a view to improving Ministry procedures and transactions with citizens and businesses,

- actively contributing to the formulation of Greek positions on the future of the Community Budget and the EU’s Financial Perspectives, and

- supporting Foreign Ministry activities in the area of economic diplomacy (promoting and protecting Greek interests and supporting the internationalisation of Greek businesses)

Finally, through the creation of a Helpdesk for International Programmes, Greek businesses and NGOs can take advantage of the ability:

- to receive timely information on every development programme and projects funded by multilateral financial institutions, and

- to be given support, guidance by capitalizing on the network of its embassies – a comparative advantage for the Foreign Ministry – and subsequently become part of international networks, as well as to systematically promote their participation in these programmes.

Last modified: May 2010