The Regional Development Fund of Thessaly

Establishment

The Regional Development Fund of Thessaly was established in 1997 under Law 2218/1994, as amended by Article 12(10) of Law 2307/1995 and Article 4(3) of Law 2503/1997. It is supervised by the Ministry of the Interior.

The Fund is a legal entity governed by private law (Ν.Π.Ι.Δ.), administered by its Board of Directors and its President. Since 1 January 2011, under the “Kallikratis” reform (Law 3852/2010 on the new architecture of local and decentralised government), the operation of the Regional Development Funds is governed by Articles 190 to 193 of that law.

Purpose

The core purpose of the Fund is to manage the appropriations of the Public Investment Programme (P.I.P.), as well as other funding for the regional and special development programmes of the Region of Thessaly.

The Fund therefore has a dual role. On the one hand, it acts as the accountable manager (υπόλογος διαχειριστής) for projects of the Public Investment Programme. On the other, it supports the development of the region by implementing European programmes, studies and research.

Responsibilities

Under Article 190 of Law 3852/2010, the responsibilities of the Regional Development Funds include:

• Managing, in accordance with the decisions of the Regional Council, appropriations of the Public Investment Programme, funding from public-sector bodies and other legal entities, and funding from programmes of the European Union, other international organisations and foreign bodies, concerning the regional and special development programmes of the Region. By way of derogation from the general rules on public investment, the Fund is designated accountable manager for payments of projects charged to the Public Investment budget.
• Supporting the work of the Executive Committee and the competent Directorate of the Region.
• Supporting development planning for wider territorial units of the Region, by providing the necessary data to the competent services.
• Supporting beneficiaries in prioritising projects, preparing them and including them in the relevant operational programmes, and throughout their implementation until completion.
• Providing technical support to the Region, in particular for studies, research and programmes entrusted to the Fund, so that resources are used more effectively.
• Managing its own treasury.
• Imposing, certifying and collecting fees, rights and contributions in favour of the Fund, following a decision of the Regional Council and approval of the Minister of the Interior.
• Participating in programmes of the European Union.
• Contracting loans with domestic and foreign financial institutions for the execution of projects, the provision of services and the implementation of programmes.
• Providing services, conducting research and preparing development, techno-economic and organisational studies, and supervising and implementing programmes entrusted to the Fund by ministries, the Region, the Decentralised Administration, municipalities and public-law legal entities.

Governance

The Fund is administered by a Board of Directors chaired by the Regional Governor. The Board is appointed by decision of the Regional Governor for a five-year term. It decides on every matter within the Fund’s remit, except those reserved for the President. The organisation and staffing of the Fund are set out in its Staff Regulation, approved by the Minister of the Interior under Article 193 of Law 3852/2010.

More information

Decisions of the Fund are published on the Diavgeia transparency portal. The Greek version of this page is available at Το Ταμείο.