To what extent does remoteness from the geographical core explain the distribution of problem regions in the EU?

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Mark Johnston                09/05/2007

European Union Essay

To what extent does remoteness from the geographical core explain the distribution of problem regions in the EU?

In the EU problem regions can be classified in numerous ways depending on what the problems are, but collectively they are grouped into Objective 1 areas. This can simply be defined as where development is lagging behind. Objective 1 areas gain assistance from the EU, and in order to qualify for this assistance the criteria that has to be met by the region is that the GDP is less than 75% of the EU average.

It is quite clear that there is a trend between remoteness from the core and objective 1 regions in the EU. The geographical core of the EU can be defined as Belgium, West Germany, Northern France, Southern England, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. Generally speaking the regions furthest from this area have Objective 1 status. This can be clearly seen as much of Finland, Northern Sweden, Greece, Southern Italy, Portugal and much of Spain are Objective 1 areas. This therefore is quite clear indication that the remoteness from the core has an effect on the regions of the EU.

One question which needs to be answered is the concept of remoteness. In the context of this question I feel that remote does not necessarily relate to places ‘in the middle of no where’, but an area which has poor access to the core, or is too far from the core. The scale of how remote a place is has to be considered. For example people in London may consider parts of Surrey such as Cobham to be remote, but when this is put into context and on a European scale it is not as remote to the European core as parts of Portugal or Finland. There is a clear cut off between Sweden and Finland which are considered as periphery and Denmark and Germany which are considered semi periphery. This I believe is due the Baltic sea creating a physical obstacle which makes access to the core far harder than from Denmark.

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Greece suffers from a similar position in the fact that it is in the EU, but not of its neighbour countries are. This means that its access to the core is also not easy as European sprawl has to cross non EU countries which may adopt different policies creating a barrier for development.

The importance of the core is that it acts as a CBD of Europe, which means that land value is likely to be higher and therefore bigger businesses are likely to be based in the core than in the periphery regions. This in turn ...

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