The EU has gone ahead with changes in its Regional Development and Cohesion Policy for 2021-2027, shifting a large chunk of support funds from central and Eastern Europe to countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy.
According to proposals published on Tuesday, Greece is set to receive 19.2 billion euros from the European Commission development budget for 2021-2027.
"The EU's economy is bouncing back, but additional investment efforts are needed to tackle persistent gaps between and within member states. With a budget of 373 billion euros in commitments for 2021-2027, the future Cohesion Policy has the investment power to help bridge these gaps," the commission said in a statement.
Regions still lagging behind in terms of growth or income - mostly located in the south and east of Europe - will keep benefiting from important EU support, it added.
"Cohesion Policy will continue investing in all regions, as many of them across Europe - including in richer member states - struggle to achieve industrial transition, fight unemployment and hold their own in a globalised economy," said the statement.
