Commission's Task Force for Greece organised its first high level coordination meeting on Wednesday 12 October with the Greek authorities, Member States and international organisations offering technical assistance to Greece. Participants stressed the need for the Greek administration to take full ownership and make best possible use of the available technical assistance.

The Greek authorities met with the Commission's Task Force for Greece, Member States and international organisations in order to discuss how to best organise technical assistance for Greece. They decided to concentrate the technical assistance in growth and employment fostering measures to speed up and focus in the EU funds as well as to create improved business environment and sectoral measures for energy, tourism, agribusiness and waste management; taxes, expenditure control and privatisation; and horizontal structural reforms for the labour market, public health, justice, public administration and waste management. The EU Review Mission made in June 2011 found significant progress in Greece, however, reinvigoration of fiscal and broader structural reforms is still necessary. With regard to these reforms, in the fiscal area, further sustained deficit reduction will require comprehensive fiscal structural reforms.

In general terms, discussions allowed for concrete progress with regard to the most urgent needs for technical assistance in some of the priority areas: kick-starting 100 high level priority structural fund projects that enables best use of the remaining €15 billion in Greece's 2007-13 structural and cohesion fund; assistance for access to finance for SMEs and crucial PPPs; a major action plan with the involvement of several Member States and the IMF in the crucial tax, budget and public expenditure areas; the preparation of concrete administrative reforms in Greece, based on an OECD analysis and possible support from a number of Member States.

The Commission's Task Force for Greece reports quarterly to the Commission and Greek government on progress achieved since it stated operations on 1 September of 2011, and it has as main objective enhancing the efficiency of technical assistance for Greece. At the last meeting, participants stressed the need for the Greek administration to take full ownership and make best possible use of the available technical assistance. It was agreed that there will be future high level coordination meetings every few months.