Regional Assistance

More than a third of the budget of the Union is devoted to regional development and economic and social cohesion through a series of European funds. The objective of EU funding under regional policy is to promote solidarity and to reduce the gaps in development among the regions and disparities among the citizens in terms of well-being. Regional assistance aims to help lagging regions to catch up, restructure declining industrial regions, diversify the economies of rural areas with declining agriculture and revitalise declining neighbourhoods in the cities. It sets job creation as its primary concern and it seeks to strengthen the economic, social and territorial ‘cohesion' of the Union.

The three new objeectives for the period 2007-2013 are:

Convergence: Support emplyment and job creation in the Member States and least developed regions

Regional competitiveness and employment: Anticipate and encourage the changes in a globalised world

European territorial cooperation: Ensure a harmonius and balanced development throughout the entire Union

This section presents the structure of EU Regional Assistance, namely the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, in the 2007-2013 budgetary period.

Funding will be available through the following instruments:

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

European Social Fund (ESF)

Cohesion Fund

INITIATIVES

Jeremie

Jessica

Jasper

Regions for Economic Change