Transcript REGIONAL POLICY

REGIONAL POLICY
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Measuring
- level of income
- unemployment
- migration
- industrial development
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Types of Disadvantage
- locational
- structural
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Reasons for policy
- employment policy
- to maximise growth
- to reduce inflation
- more equitable distribution
- social
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Ways of assisting
- grants
- port development
- relocation of state activities
REGIONAL POLICY IN IRELAND
• DEBATE 1960's
- concentration v dispersionist approach
• Buchanan report
- recommended concentration but government in practice chose the
dispersionist route
• IDA POLICY 1970's
- detailed regional plans 73-77
- designated and non-designated areas
EU REGIONAL POLICY 75 - initially all of Irish republic treated as a single area
- initially this led to an abandonment of commitment to internal
regional planning
- however in recent years country has been divided into two regions fo
EU Structural Funds purposes
IRISH PLANNING REGIONS
• DONEGAL
• EAST – Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath
• MIDLANDS - Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Roscommon and Longford
• NORTH EAST - Cavan, Monaghan and Louth
• NORTH WEST - Sligo and Leitrim
• SOUTH EAST - Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South
Tipperary
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SOUTH WEST - Cork, Kerry
• WEST - Galway, Mayo
• MID WEST - Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary
REGIONAL POLICY - RATIONALE
• Disparities in income within Community
- this has now taken on a new important dimension with the entry of
10 new countries to communitywith a compartively low standard of
living
• Effects of EU membership
• Border Problems
• Areas predominantly dependent on agriculture and fishing
• Tendency for industry to gravitate towards centre of Europe
• Problems associated with EMU
• To make national policies more effective
EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK
• Established under Rome Treaty
• Grants loans on non-profit making basis
- financed by member states
- projects for backward regions
- for modernising or developing undertakings
- projects of common interest to several member states
- money also provided for non-EU countries
• Ireland considerable beneficiary in past
- in recent years however because of foreign debt concerns little use
made of funds
EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (ERDF)
PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR
• PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENT
• CREATION OR MODERNISATION OF INFRASTRUCTURES
ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOPMENT OR CONVERSION OF
REGIONS, FRONTIER REGIONS OR PARTS OF REGIONS
INCLUDING EMPLOYMENT AREAS AND URBAN
COMMUNITIES
• MEASURES TO EXPLOIT THE POTENTIAL FOR INTERNALLY
GENERATED DEVELOPMENT FOR THE REGIONS FRONTIER
REGIONS OR PARTSD OF REGIONS AND URBAN
COMMUNITIES
• STUDIES OR PILOT SCHEMES CONCERNING PHYSICAL
PLANNING AT COMMUNITY LEVEL, ESPECIALLY WHERE
FRONTIER AREAS ARE INVOLVED
EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL FUND
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1st FUND 1975-79
- Money allocated to countries on basis of fixed national quotas supplementing
existing
national regional quotas
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2nd FUND 1979-84
TWO SECTIONS TO FUND:
Quota (supplementing national measures)
Non-quota (community policies) dealing with
- problems due to community decisions in other fields
- changing world circumstances (e.g. steel and textiles)
- frontier regions
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3rd FUND 1985
MONEY CONCENTRATED MUCH MORE IN POORER AREAS WITH
QUOTA/NON-QUOTA SECTIONS ABOLISHED
- Upper and lower limits for each country set
- Larger role for programming finance (20% of total)
- more emphasis on internally generated development
- ERDF limited to financing proportion of projects and programmes (50-55%)
PRESENT REGIONAL POLICY
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Though the EU overall is a rich area there are striking differences of income
and opportunity as between its richest and poorest regions (with the 10 most
dynamic having an income in excess of 3 times the 10 least developed regions)
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EU policy based on solidarity and cohesion
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Causes of inequality: - geographic remoteness, political systems, economic
and social change – shows up in low incomes, poor education, lack of
infrastructure and high unemployment
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Structural Funds
There are 4 Structural Funds available
- European Regional Development Fund
- European Social Fund
- Section of Agricultural Fund devoted to Regional Development
- Financial support for fishing communities
STRUCTURAL AND COHESION FUNDS
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Total value of these funds comes to €213 billion from 2000-2006 (1/3 of total
expenditure)
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A further €18 billion goes to the Cohesion Fund set up in 1993 to help Spain,
Ireland, Portugal and Greece prepare for EMU (which is devoted to transport
and environmental projects).
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Of Structural Funds 70% goes to Objective 1 Regions (where income is less
than 75% of community average largely for assisting infrastructure and
business investment).
Another 11.5% goes to Objective 2 Regions (experiencing economic decline
because of structural difficulties).
Objective 3 concentrates on job creation initiatives in regions not covered
under the other two headings (12.3% of Funding).
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There are also four special initiatives
- Cross Border and inter-regional cooperation (Interreg 3)
- Sustainable development of cities and declining rural areas (Urban 2)
- Rural development through local initiatives (Leader + Program)
- Combating inequalities with respect to labour market (Equal)
OTHER INITIATIVES AND STRUCTURES
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There are also special initiatives for the newer countries (worth about €22
billion)
- ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for pre-accession) with a budget of
€7.28 billion.
- Sapard (Special accession program for rural development) with a budget of
€3.64 billion.
- Phare programmes (financing investment and institutional development in
new members (€10 billion (approx)
An additional €22 billion set aside (for 2004 – 2006).
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Institutional Structures
Responsibility now shared between a number of Institutions
- Council of the European Union
- European Parliament (Committee on Regional Policy)
- Committee of the Regions (set up by Maastricht Treaty 1992)
- European Investment Bank – providing loan finance for investment projects