Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance, together with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, issued a statement responding to reporting on vocational training programmes and explaining how unfinished, contracted projects continued to be financed after the original programmes ended. It links the approach to the European Union’s long-standing policy of involving social partners in vocational training and states that subsequent funding decisions were taken in line with national and EU rules. The ministries note that training programmes included in 2021 and 2022 were awarded through open calls and in accordance with State aid rules, and that the programmes expired at end-December 2023 after contracts had already been signed, creating legal commitments for the Greek State. With implementation incomplete, continued financing was presented as necessary to avoid compensation claims; following negotiations with EU authorities, an EU letter dated April 17, 2024 approved transferring 15 projects to the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2021-2027 and indicated that partner-entity operations could be eligible for national funding. Fourteen of the 15 projects were subsequently included in NSRF 2021-2027, while four projects of partner bodies were set to be financed from national resources based on European Commission guidance and Law 5140/2024.

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