Construction cartel find means grants from EU may be blocked
Money destined for Greece from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund for the 2014-20 period is at risk as the bloc’s executive Commission is considering a freeze on disbursements.
This is due to an investigation by Greece’s Competition Commission that has identified cartel practices by construction companies involved in infrastructure project tenders.
An internal European Commission document leaked on Tuesday showed that in the light of the Greek authorities’ findings, the head of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy has halted the disbursement procedure and warned Athens it will not process future payments unless there is confirmation regarding the legality and regularity of expenditure.
