Structural Funds and Community Initiative Programmes

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Structural Funds and Community Initiative
Programmes
Philippe Le Guen (leguen_at_racine.fr)

• Ankara October 19, 2004

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PART ONE

• The Structural Policy

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Structural Action

• The EU's structural policy consists essentially
  of making payments from the EU budget to
  disadvantaged regions and sections of the
  population. The total amount allocated in
  2000-2006 is 213 billion.
• The payments are used to boost development in
  backward regions, to convert old industrial
  zones, to help young people and the long-term
  unemployed find work, to modernise farming and to
  help less-favoured rural areas.
• The money is paid through specific funds - the
  European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the
  European Social Fund (ESF), the Financial
  Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and the
  European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
  (EAGGF).
• These payments are complemented by private
  investment and by national and regional
  government funding.

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Priority objectives

• In order to have the greatest effect, the EU has
  set 3 priority objectives
• Objective 1 is to help develop regions where the
  wealth produced divided by the number of
  inhabitants - or 'gross domestic product (GDP)
  per capita' - is less than 75 of the EU average
  (50 regions 22 of the EU's population). This
  aid, amounting to 135 billion, is two thirds of
  all the structural Funds in 2000-2006, help
  creating the lacking infrastructure, providing
  better training for local people and stimulating
  investment in local businesses.
• Objective 2 is to help other regions in
  difficulty where the economy is being
  restructured, declining rural areas, fishing
  communities in crisis or urban areas with serious
  problems.
• Objective 3 is to combat unemployment by
  modernising training systems and helping to
  create jobs.

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Structural Operations 2004
Source European Commission
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Extending structural policy to new candidates
countries

• Enlarging the Union to take in new member states
  pose a major challenge, because development in
  some regions of these countries lags well behind
  the rest of the EU which require further efforts
  at sectoral and regional adjustment.
• A number of 'instruments' are already being used
  to help the candidate countries
• The Phare programme, which channels aid to the
  current candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania
  and in future Croatia, Turkey ?).
• ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for
  Pre-Accession) finances environmental and
  transport projects.
• Sapard for financing agriculture.

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PART TWO

• The Structural Funds

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The Structural Funds

• Financial support is provided via 5 Funds, the 4
  Structural Funds
• ESF (European Social Fund)
• EAGGF (European Agriculture Guidance Guarantee
  Fund)
• ERDF (European Regional Development Fund)
• FIFG (Financial Instrument for Fisheries
  Guidance)
• which apply in ALL the Member States. They amount
  195 billion.
• In addition to these structural funds there is a
  Cohesion Fund. This is used to finance transport
  infrastructure and environmental projects in EU
  countries whose per capita GDP is less than 90
  of the EU average.

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European Social Fund (ESF)

• Created in 1957, the ESF is the European Unions
  main tool for the development of human resources
  and the improvement of the workings of the labour
  market.
• It supports measures to prevent and combat
  unemployment and to develop human resources, and
  aims to promote a high level of employment,
  equality between men and women, sustainable
  development and economic and social cohesion.
• The ESF, like all Structural Funds, is
  decentralised in the Member States who are
  responsible for its implementation and use.
• For the period 2000-2006, out of 195 billion
  allocated to the structural funds, 60 billion
  (31) were allocated to the ESF.

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European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
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PART THREE

• The Community Initiative Programmes

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INTERREG

• Interreg III is a Community initiative which aims
  to stimulate interregional cooperation in the EU
  between 2000-06. It is financed under the
  European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
• It supports projects of cross-border,
  transnational and interregional cooperation.
• Special emphasis has been placed on integrating
  remote regions and those which share external
  borders with the candidate countries.

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Interreg B3 Archimed programme
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INTERREG III B ARCHI-MED
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ARCHIMED programme priorities

• Development of urban systems.
• Restructuration of urban systems, to establish a
  better distribution of the population which
  better corresponds to economic and cultural
  activities.
• Transport systems and telecommunications /
  information society networks.
• Co-ordination of transport between the different
  parts of the region to facilitate faster and
  safer movement of goods and people.
• Improvement of the telecommunications
  infrastructure, to ensure equal access to
  knowledge and information, and the
  competitiveness of SMEs.
• Management of cultural resources exploitation of
  cultural heritage and sustainable development.
• Development of synergies between the environment,
  culture and development to enhance the value of
  the natural landscape and cultural sites, and to
  facilitate territorial cooperation and
  development in the areas of tourism, education,
  SMEs, etc.
• Special attention to the historical aspects of
  cultural heritage, which can act as a unifying
  force between the countries in the region.
• protection of water reserves, management and
  protection of the coasts, and conservation and
  improvement of marine ecosystems.

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INTERREG III A - GREECE - TURKEY

• The European Interreg III A programme contributes
  to the development of cross-border cooperation
  between Greece and Turkey. The total resources of
  Programme amount in 66 million, from which
  46.66 million concern the Greek side (with 35
  million from the ERDF) and 19.35 million the
  Turkish side (with 15 million from the
  financial pre-accession instrument ISPA).
• The eligible region covers the entire land and
  maritime neighbouring areas of Greece and Turkey,
  an area of 81,215 km². It has a population of 8,1
  million out of which 63, 6 is urban.
• Upgrading the infrastructure and developing
  cross-border cooperation in social and economic
  sectors are the main objectives of the programme.
• This includes improving accessibility and
  communication strengthening of economic activity
  and encouraging initiatives for addressing
  unemployment upgrading the quality of life of
  citizens, improving environmental management and
  management of cultural resources.

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• These objectives will be implemented through 4
  priority axes
• Priority 1 Cross-border Infrastructure
• Strengthening of transport infrastructure and
  cross-border networks
• Safe movement of people and goods
• Priority 2 Economic Development and Employment
• Strengthening of cross-border entrepreneurship
• Development of various forms of tourism
• Human resources and promotion of employment
• Priority 3 Quality of life / Environment /
  Culture
• Protection of health
• Protection, promotion and management of natural
  environment
• Promotion of cultural and tourist activities
• Cross-border Co-operation of educational
  institutions
• Priority 4 Technical Assistance
• Management of Programme

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URBAN II

• Urban II is the Community Initiative funded by
  the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for
  sustainable development in the troubled urban
  districts of the European Union for the period
  2000-06.
• As a follow-up to Urban I in 1994-99, Urban II
  aims more precisely to promote implementation of
  innovative models of development for the economic
  and social regeneration of troubled urban areas.
• It consists of 70 programmes across the EU,
  covering some 2.2 million inhabitants.

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LEADER

• Leader is designed to help rural actors consider
  the long-term potential of their local region.
• Encouraging the implementation of integrated,
  high-quality and original strategies for
  sustainable development, it has a strong focus on
  partnership and networks of exchange of
  experience.
• A total of 5 046.5 million for the period
  2000-2006 will be spent, of which 2 105.1
  million is funded by the EAGGF Guidance section
  and the remainder by public and private
  contributions.
• Leader plays the role of a laboratory which aims
  to encourage the emergence and testing of new
  approaches to integrated and sustainable
  development that will influence, complete and/or
  reinforce rural development policy in the UE.

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EQUAL

• The EQUAL Community Initiative promotes new ways
  of combating all types of labour market
  discrimination and inequalities.
• EQUAL is based on the following Principles
• to test, develop and validate innovative
  approaches to local, national and European policy
  development. Its purpose is to integrate
  solutions that work into policy and practice.
• EQUAL co-finances the work of strategic
  partnerships known as Development Partnerships,
  which bring organisations, agencies, businesses
  and educators together to identify the causes of
  problems and to combine their efforts and
  resources to find innovative integrated
  approaches to solving them.
• Transnational co-operation is integral to EQUAL.
  The promotion and transfer know-how and good
  practice between partnerships and between Member
  States is a key objective.

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• EQUAL does not have a top-down approach, it
  requires informal and formal co-operation between
  many actors.
• Transnational co-operation is an essential
  element in EQUAL for promoting the transfer of
  knowledge and experience between Development
  Partnerships and between the participating
  countries.
• By sharing the results of innovative activities
  carried out at national and transnational level,
  EQUAL aims at providing real added value for
  policy development at the national and European
  level.
• Sending staff to another country facing similar
  problems allows them see the issues in a new
  light, it also helps them find new ways of
  working.

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The Euro-Mediterranean partnershipThe MEDA
programme

• The MEDA programme is the principal financial
  instrument of the European Union for the
  implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean
  Partnership. The programme offers technical and
  financial support measures to accompany the
  reform of economic and social structures in the
  Mediterranean partners.
• Going far beyond traditional development aid,
  MEDA makes economic transition and free trade the
  central issue of EU financial cooperation with
  the Mediterranean region.
• For the period 1995-1999 MEDA accounted for
  3,435 million of the 4,422 million of budgetary
  resources allocated for financialco-operation
  between the EU and its Mediterranean Partners.
  For 2000-2006 MEDA is endowed with 5,350
  million.

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• The MEDA grants from the Community budget are
  accompanied by substantial lending from the
  European Investment Bank (EIB).
• For 2000-2007, the EIB lending mandate is 6,400
  million. The Bank committed itself to contribute
  a further 1,000 million from its own resources
  over the same period for transnational projects.
• During the period 1995-1999, some 86 of the
  resources allocated to MEDA were channelled
  bilaterally to the partners (this relates to
  Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria,
  Tunisia, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority).
  The other 12 of the resources were devoted to
  regional activities. 2 were set aside for
  technical assistance offices.

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• The priorities for MEDA resources at the
  bilateral level are
• support to economic transition prepare for the
  implementation of free trade through increasing
  competitiveness, in particular through
  development of the private sector
• strengthening the socio-economic balance to
  lower the short-term costs of economic transition
  through appropriate measures in the field of
  social policy.
• Regional and multilateral co-operation
  complements and reinforces the bilateral
  approach. Regional programmes operate in all
  three priority domains the political and
  security dimension the economic and financial
  dimension the social, cultural and human
  dimension.
• Examples in Turkey
• Directly financed by MEDA programme on basic
  education.
• Loans signed by the EIB for the reconstruction of
  infrastructures and industry following the 1999
  earthquake.
• How to Get Involved in MEDA?
• The beneficiaries may include local authorities,
  regional organisations, public agencies, local
  communities, organisations supporting business,
  private operators, cooperatives, mutual
  societies, associations, foundations and
  non-governmental organisations.
• EuropeAid regularly publishes information on
  tender, supply and works contracts as well as
  calls for proposals for projects to be
  subsidised http//europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/te
  nder/index_en.htm

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For further information
http//europa.eu.int

Structural Funds and Policy, Interreg,
Urbanhttp//europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/i
ndex_en.htm European Social Fund http//europa.eu.
int/comm/employment_social/index_en.htm Equal http
//europa.eu.int/comm/equal Financial Instruments
for candidate countries http//europa.eu.int/comm/
regional_policy/funds/ispa/enlarge/index_en.htm Gr
ants and Loans http//europa.eu.int/grants/index_e
n.htm Europaid http//www.europa.eu.int/comm/europ
eaid/index_en.htm
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http//www.deltur.cec.eu.int/
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http//www.deltur.cec.eu.int/english/eu-funded2004
-en.html
http//www.deltur.cec.eu.int/eu-funded2004-tr.html