Regionality in the European Union

The European Union’s regional policy is based on financial solidarity inasmuch as part of member States’ contributions to the community budget goes to the less prosperous regions and social groups.

The proposals from member states should help make the regions more competitive by helping firms to expand their activities, create jobs and become more profitable. To achieve this, businesses and citizens require safe, modern and fast infrastructure offering efficient connections and many forms of transport.

The member states and regions have every interest in diversifying their sources of supply, in terms of energy, and in so doing providing practical interconnections between distribution networks. Investments in renewable sources of energy and low-consumption technologies are to be encouraged.

The Structural Fund was created to deal with such problems and has three main objectives.

Objective one

In the regions where development is lagging behind, the aim is to catch up with the other regions of the Union. This begins by making up the substantial shortage of basic infrastructure (transport, water supply, energy, waste treatment, telecommunications, health and education.)

These areas include regions whose per capita GDP does not exceed 75% of the Community average, as well as thinly populated regions of Finland and Sweden and the outermost regions (Canaries etc). Some coastal areas of Sweden are also covered, along with Northern Ireland and the border countries of Ireland, where there is a special programme for peace and reconciliation.

All these regions have a number of economic indicators “in the red”:

• low investment levels;

• a higher than average unemployment rate;

• lack of services for people and businesses;

• poor basic infrastructure.

Objective two

The major problem for areas undergoing conversion is not the lack of infrastructure but the decline in traditional economic activities. This requires the development of alternatives. Targeted supplementary infrastructure may be built in these areas to increase their attractiveness and their employment levels.

The difficulties facing these regions may be of four very different types:

• industrial or service sectors subject to restructuring;

• loss of ...

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All these regions have a number of economic indicators “in the red”:

• low investment levels;

• a higher than average unemployment rate;

• lack of services for people and businesses;

• poor basic infrastructure.

Objective two

The difficulties facing these regions may be of four very different types:

• industrial or service sectors subject to restructuring;

• loss of traditional activities in rural areas;

• declining urban areas;

• difficulties in the fisheries sector.

Objective three

Objective three acts as a frame of reference for all human resources measures financed by the Structural Funds that includes:

• basic and life-long training, apprenticeships, etc.

• support for employment and unwaged work

• the social economy

• improved structures of education, training and aid for employment

• the creation of partnerships between training institutions and firms

• helping workers to become flexible and adaptable

• equal opportunities

For a more harmonious development of the Union, aid provided to urban and rural areas should complement and improve the balance between them. However, the specific problems and characteristics of these areas should be taken into account.

Towns and cities have the advantage of being centres of communication, trade, innovation and culture alongside the disadvantages of consuming enormous quantities of energy and producing considerable quantities of waste. The role of urban areas in regional growth should be enhanced so as to provide increased employment opportunities. Balanced urban development requires the regeneration of the most run-down areas and greater advances in social integration. Devising clean and cheap transport systems could reinforce living standards and health protection, exploiting renewable sources of energy and by rationalising the use of traditional energy sources. Urban management that is efficient and close to inhabitants helps improve the living environment in cities.

Many areas in the countryside are under-populated, lack basic services and offer limited job opportunities. These problems primarily stem from the decline in agriculture that is still the main land use in rural areas. Agriculture maintains the landscape and produces essential raw materials.

To maintain a living countryside incentives are needed to encourage farmers to modernise production and marketing methods and provide high-quality products. The competitiveness of rural areas also depends on a wider range of job-creating activities as a means of stemming out migration from rural areas. Rural areas are often synonymous with a healthy environment and natural heritage, assets that bode well for recreation and tourism activities. It is therefore vital to preserve the countryside, protect nature and encourage the renovation of villages.

Research is one of the means by which wealth-creation in the least prosperous regions can be speeded up and which can place economic activity in the areas undergoing conversion on a new footing.

Modernising manufacturing methods is of utmost importance. Regions and regional companies are encouraged to open up new production techniques or to devise regional strategies for innovation. Research has an impact on economic development. Regions can promote innovative production methods through know-how and technology transfers.

The construction of modern and efficient trans-European networks for transport, energy and telecommunications is of the utmost importance for the development of the outlying areas of the Union. The high cost of such investment makes it essential for the Community policies on transport, energy, and telecommunications to guide the Member States’ proposals for projects. The purpose of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is to contribute towards this. Its loans help to improve the above. In 1999, loans for regional development and the reduction of disparities totalled 17 billion Euros.

The Community’s “e-Europe” initiative seeks to ensure that all the Member States and regions of the Union enjoy the benefits of the information society. The Structural Funds will support this initiative in all areas where access to and utilisation of new technologies is lagging behind.

Tourism, culture, the environment and the social economy are promising sectors for regional development and job-creation. A high quality environment improves the attractiveness of a region and increases its chances of economic development. If such is not the case, regions require infrastructure to provide better quality water, waste recovery and recycling and the cleaning up of tips are just some of the activities to be undertaken to secure sustainable regional development.

In addition to the three main objectives stated above there are also four Community Initiatives seeking common solutions to specific problems. They spend around 5 percent of the funding for the Structural Funds on:

• cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation (Interrag III);

• sustainable development of cities and declining urban areas (Urban II);

• rural development through local initiatives (Leader + );

• combating inequalities and discrimination in access to the labour market (Equal).