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A sumary of the European Structural Funds - what they are and what they fund.
WHAT ARE THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS?
This is the name for the EU fund, designed to bring equality to the levels of development among EU member states. The funds consist of four distinct budgets which focus on particular activities.
1. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). For:
2. The European Social Fund (ESF). For:
3. The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) for rural development.
4. The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance
HOW DO THEY COME TO NI?
The Department of Finance and Personnel is the lead department for European funding in is Nl. It works with the NI Executive. Ministers and the DFP propose a framework for the strategy and set the spending priorities for the funds.
The framework is called the Community Support Framework. It has to comply with all relevant European regulations and policies, and is negotiated with the European Commission so as to achieve the best possible plan for Northern Ireland.
On the basis of this framework, Operational Programmes are drawn up to outline the aims and objectives for activities that will be funded.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT FRAMEWORK IN NI 2000-06
This Framework outlines the EU's support to NI during 2000-2006. NI submitted a Structural Funds plan to the Commission in November 1999. The NI Executive then reviewed and endorsed the plan in 2000. After this negotiations began between the European Commission and NI authorities on its content.
The Commission appraised the plan, identifying areas which needed amendment, clarification or restructuring so as to comply with EU regulations and policies. The resulting document is called a Community Support Framework (CSF).
The CSF includes:
Aim of the CSF
"To achieve a transition to a more peaceful, stable, prosperous, fair and outward looking society, sustained by a better physical environment"
The CSF has five priorities and nine horizontal principles.
To reinforce progress towards a peaceful and stable society and to promote reconciliation. The two main objectives are to:
Focuses on developing NI’s economic infrastructure. It aims is to produce a fast growing, competitive, innovative, knowledge-based economy where there are plentiful opportunities for a population equipped to grasp them.
This Priority aims to develop people so that they are fully equipped to grasp the increasing employment opportunities in a more prosperous, peaceful society and in particular those created by actions under the Economic Growth and Renewal priority.
This Priority focuses on how balanced development will be supported across Northern Ireland. It aims to reduce the socio-economic gaps between disadvantaged areas and the wider society through a number of objectives.
North-South cooperation will be a strategic priority in both the CSF for Ireland and the CSF for Northern Ireland. And a minimum financial budget has been allocated to encourage socio-economic cooperation and accompanying investment.
Horizontal Principles
A set of horizontal principles was agreed to apply to all actions across the strategic Priorities of the CSF for Northern Ireland. These build in key issues both for the European Union and for Northern Ireland. The horizontal principles are:
Specific monitoring of the CSF horizontal issues common to both Programmes will be carried out through working groups reporting to the Monitoring Committee. Standing working groups on Human Resource Development, Fisheries, Environmental Sustainability and the Information Society will be established. An officer will report to the CSF Monitoring Committee on progress regarding gender mainstreaming.
The Operational Programmes
The CSF consists of two Operational Programmes (OPs) - the Transitional Operational Programme and the PEACE II Programme (common with the Border Counties of Ireland). While the two Programmes need to operate in an integrated and complementary fashion, they also have to be clearly distinctive.
The Transitional Objective 1 Programme is the largest component of the Northern Ireland Community Support Framework, and accounts for approximately two-thirds of the total Structural Funds allocated. So it will be the main instrument for achieving the economic and social transition identified in the CSF. The following Priorities have been adopted:
The PEACE II Programme for Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland 2000-2004 is a distinctive European Union Structural Funds Programme designed to address the legacy of the conflict and to take the opportunities arising from the peace process and contribute to reconciliation by promoting appropriate cross-community contacts. The PEACE II Programme will build on the creative and innovative approaches adopted under PEACE I. This included joint cross-border, inclusive and “bottom-up” delivery mechanisms. The following priorities have been adopted:
Sui generis
Sui generis - cannot be classified with others, unique. Within the Community Suport Framework, Peace and Reconciliation is a sui generis Priority, because while it is a clear priority for the whole region, the funding to address specific actions has been allocated through one Operational Programme, ie the PEACE II Programme.
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