The
European Commission welcomed the August 5 inauguration of Greece’s Ionian
Highway, the construction of which was fully funded by the European Union
Cohesion Policy funds.
The funding
was part of measures the Commission put forward in the 2015 under the “A New
Start for Growth and Jobs in Greece” plan.
“The EU invests to improve the everyday lives
of Greek citizens with safer roads and reduced travel time,” said EU
Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu. “Better transport connections
also mean new economic opportunities and faster growth. The Ionian Highway is a
new token of steadfast EU solidarity and friendship with Greece.”
The new,
200km highway connects the city of Ioannina in the region of Epirus
(North-Western Greece) to Antirrio, in Western Greece, and cuts travel time by
two hours.
The highway
reaches the Peloponnese peninsula in the South, via the EU-funded Rio-Antirrio
bridge and, in the North, allows smoother access to Greece’s neighbours
countries in the Western Balkans.
The Ionian
highway is one of the 5 EU-funded motorway concessions in the country, with the
Moreas Motorway in the Peloponnese, the Aegean Motorway linking Athens to
Thessaloniki, the Olympia Motorway from Corinth to Patras and the middle
section of the E65 Motorway in Central Greece. All motorways been supported
with €3.6bn worth of EU funds.
According
to the Commission, the motorways are a boost for the economy by providing a
strategic trans-European network and allow a smooth flow of people and goods.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/eu-paves-way-greek-economic-growth/