Commissie reserveert 336 miljard euro voor arme regio's (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission yesterday unveiled a major reform of regional funding to take the ten new member states into account.

Brussels has assigned 336 billion euro to fund poorer regions between 2007 and 2013 - an increase of 40 percent on the previous seven-year period. This represents over a third of the EU budget.

More than half (52 percent) of the funds will go to economically disadvantaged regions in the new member states.

And there will be funds available to soften the blow for regions in the current EU that will cease to be poor enough to qualify for funds. In order to receive EU funding, a region's gross domestic product has to be less than 75 percent of the EU average. The EU's average GDP will drop dramatically after enlargement meaning that regions in the current EU that were under the 75 percent bar will rise above that ceiling after enlargement.

But one of the reforms introduced by regional aid commissioner Michel Barnier is that regions will now have to prove that funds received from Brussels will go to promoting economic growth and jobs in that area.

Narrowing the gaps

Presenting the report, Mr Barnier said, "We need to involve all of the regions and people in generating wealth. And this is precisely what this proposal is all about: narrowing the gaps to achieve faster growth. Growth and cohesion are opposite sides of the same coin".

"We are on the verge of a historic moment in the development of the European Union, with the re-unification of the continent. But this will result in a major widening of the gaps between rich and poor. Helping the poorest regions will be top priority for the next generation of European aid programmes", he added.