Keep EU money flowing to Wales and ensure availability of match funding during tight times ahead – the findings of two Assembly reports
7 July 2010
A clearer path is needed to show what will happen to future EU funding in Wales and how it will be used by a wider variety of organisations to help some of our poorest areas – these are the main conclusions in two separate reports from the National Assembly for Wales.
The European and External Affairs Committee has released its second report on the future of Cohesion Policy and has warned that Wales will need further support from European Structural Funds post 2013.
The Committee says that a Team Wales approach is needed to make this case loud and clear in the UK and Brussels. The report also warns against the possible repatriation of this responsibility back to the UK Government – backing up the first report it released in December last year.
“The Committee utterly rejects the proposition that the responsibility for regional development funding should be repatriated from Europe back to the Member State, and the only exception to this rule should be the Eastern European accession states, where direct funding from Europe would continue. Such a development would not be in the best interest of Wales, the UK or the wider European Union”, said Rhodri Morgan AM, Chair of the European and External Affairs Committee.
“Driving economic recovery in a coherent manner across the Union is a process which needs to include the less well-off regions like West Wales and the Valleys, within richer Member States like the UK. That is in line with the strategic priorities of the Europe 2020 Strategy. It requires an integrated EU-wide approach that recognises the importance of all the regions and regional-tier governments like Wales.”
“Continued support through Cohesion Policy will unlock Wales’s potential to implement and gain from the Europe 2020 goals of ‘smart, sustainable, inclusive growth’.
“It will boost research and development, innovation and the ‘green’ economy, and support development of the necessary training and skills Wales needs to prosper.”
At the same time the Enterprise and Learning Committee believes more must be done to ensure European Structural Funds are used more creatively in stimulating sustainable long-term improvements in the Welsh economy such as growing the digital, creative and green industries.
Its inquiry found that while there was plenty of praise from the European Commission for the Welsh Government and the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) over the administration of the Structural Funds, there are important issues that need to be addressed, such as the need to engage smaller players from the third and private sectors.
The Committee also highlighted the potential impact of tighter public sector budgets on the availability of match funding for EU funded projects, and the likelihood of increased demands on the Welsh Government’s Targeted Match Fund over the programming period.
“The Minister has assured us that lack of match funding will not be an issue for concern, despite this financial climate,” said Gareth Jones AM, Chair of the Enterprise and Learning Committee.
“But we believe this situation needs to be kept under review. My Committee has other concerns about the need to improve communication between projects at a local level to avoid duplication of effort in achieving shared goals.”
“The Welsh Government also needs to address the fact that industry is ‘not biting’ at the strategic level in Convergence programmes and we need to see how all projects need to adapt to changing economic circumstances to ensure their longer-term sustainability.
“The overall aim – and ultimate success – of European Structural Funding will be to achieve sustainable structural improvements in the Welsh economy, as well as improvements in the social inclusion agenda.”
The Enterprise and Learning Committee makes 19 recommendations in its report. They include:
The Welsh Assembly Government should be more imaginative in ensuring smaller players in both the private and third sectors have opportunities to engage in the delivery of Structural Funds projects.
The Welsh Assembly Government should consider the potential implications of tighter future public sector budgets, particularly with regard to the availability of public sector match funding and the possibility of increased demands on the Targeted Match Fund.
In carrying out its project monitoring responsibilities WEFO should take carefully into account the current economic climate and the effect this will have on original project targets and therefore the longer-term outcomes for the Welsh economy.
The European and External Affairs Committee makes 14 recommendations to the European Commission, European Parliament and Welsh Government. They include:
The Welsh Government to clarify how it will be making the case to and with the UK Coalition Government for continuation of an EU-wide Cohesion Policy, including access to Convergence support for qualifying regions, and provision of transitional funding arrangements, post 2013.
The Welsh Government to clarify how it has engaged with Welsh stakeholders and how it plans to (i) build a Team Wales approach in promoting key Welsh interests in the next critical stage of the Cohesion Policy debate in 2010-11, and (ii) represent and promote the Welsh position on future Cohesion Policy through working with other European regions in formal European bodies and informal networks in Brussels.
The European Parliament – in particular Welsh MEPs and Members of the Regional Development Committee – to take account of the key conclusions and recommendations of this report in its deliberations on the future EU Budget, Europe 2020 and Cohesion Policy.
The Welsh Government to develop a closer ‘Team Wales’ approach to partnership working with the higher education sector, the business sector and local government in Wales as a matter of urgency, to ensure it is maximising all current and future European funding opportunities to develop STEM skills and encourage R&D and innovation in Wales, including FP8.
Second Report of Inquiry into the Future of Cohesion Policy
Structural Funds: Implementation of 2007-2013 Programmes