EU Clears Support for Greek, Bulgarian Urban Regeneration Projects under JESSICA
The European Commission said it has approved Greek and Bulgarian schemes aimed at supporting urban regeneration projects through the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) initiative.
"The Commission found the schemes to be in line with EU state aid rules that allow supporting the development of certain economic areas, in particular because they address market failures affecting urban regeneration projects without unduly distorting competition in the EU Single Market," the Commission said in a press release published on its website on Wednesday.
"The aid is both necessary and proportionate," it added.
Private investors will finance at least 30% in Greece and 50% in Bulgaria of each project's costs, thus creating a leverage effect.
The JESSICA Holding Fund Greece operates with a budget of 258 million euro ($343 million) by end-2015, while JESSICA Holding Fund Bulgaria has a budget of 33 million euro for the same period. Both are financed partly from EU structural funds and partly by national public funding.