The New Year 2013 begins with some good news on the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) front, as Greece met the Memorandum target for the absorption of EU funds in the second half of 2012, Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis announced on January 2, during a press briefing on NSRF funding progress.

Particularly for the annual expenditure of 2012, an 'exceptionally ambitious' target of € 3.73 billion in EU funding had been set by the Memorandum, of which Greece managed to reach 102.64 % in the second half of 2012 following a shortfall in the first half. In terms of absorbing EU funds, Greece is well above EU average, but the effort will remain strong  for 2013, as the new target to be reached is € 3,890 million.