Fifteen years after the European Union embraced the idea of “smart specialization” as a way to boost regional innovation and competitiveness, questions remain over how effectively the strategy has been implemented. Nowhere is this uncertainty more evident than in Greece, where efforts to align policy with the EU framework have produced only mixed results.
Like other member states, Greece was required to develop both a national and a set of regional smart specialization strategies in order to gain access to funding from the European Regional Development Fund during the 2014–2020 and 2021–2027 programming periods. Each region was tasked with identifying its comparative advantages, ranging from agri-food in Thessaly and Central Macedonia to tourism and the creative industries in the South Aegean. On paper, the framework was in place; in practice, the outcomes fell well short of the ambition.
A recent report by the European Court of Auditors highlights structural weaknesses in the process. Regional priorities often failed to align with broader EU strategic goals, such as developing microchips, battery technologies, or hydrogen production. In Greece, many regions fell back on broad and generic options, repeating familiar development themes rather than setting distinct, forward-looking priorities. The result was a lack of differentiation and a missed opportunity to carve out niches in more innovative or high-tech sectors.
Interregional cooperation—one of the cornerstones of the smart specialization concept—has also been weak. In theory, the strategy is designed to foster collaboration across regions and even across borders. In Greece, however, most projects during the 2014–2020 period were highly localized, with little effort to build synergies with other regions or leverage cross-border partnerships.
Where funding has been spent, it has largely flowed to traditional sectors. Agri-food, tourism, information and communication technologies, and health absorbed the bulk of resources. This reflects a wider EU trend: across the bloc, nearly half of ERDF funding went to just three areas—agri-food, health and life sciences, and ICT—suggesting a preference for “safe bets” over more risky, high-technology ventures.
Perhaps the most telling weakness in Greece is the limited participation of the private sector. Smart specialization is meant to draw on the so-called “quadruple helix,” bringing together government, academia, business, and civil society. Yet in practice, consultation with the business community has often been perfunctory, leaving strategies that do not always reflect the real needs of the market.
