Northern Ireland: PEACE II programme (2000-2006)

The PEACE II programme is designed to consolidate the peace process in Northern Ireland by channelling finance under Objective 1 of the Structural Funds in the 2000-06 period. Like its forerunner, PEACE I (1995-99), the programme seeks to encourage progress towards a peaceful, stable society and promote reconciliation in the region.

ACT

Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds [See amending acts].

SUMMARY

In March 1999, the Berlin European Council decided that the special programme for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland should continue until 2004 (renamed PEACE II). In January 2005, this programme was extended until 2006 and more funding allocated to it.

The new Regulation stipulates that PEACE II is a programme under Objective 1 of the Structural Funds to provide support for Northern Ireland and the border regions of Ireland.

Its goal is to encourage progress towards a peaceful, stable society and promote reconciliation in the region.

Programme elements

PEACE II has two general strands:

• economic and social development;
• addressing the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland, as part of the region's peace process.

Specific goals

The programme addresses the specific problems caused by the conflict in order to create a peaceful and stable society. It provides support for measures and action designed to achieve this end.

Priorities

PEACE II contains five economic and social priorities:

• economic renewal (realising the economic opportunities generated by the peace process);
• social integration, inclusion and reconciliation (with priority given to vulnerable groups in the areas worst affected by the conflict, interface areas and areas where community infrastructure is weak);
• locally-based regeneration and development strategies;
• promoting an outward and forward-looking region (by encouraging a dialogue with other EU regions on economic, social and environmental issues);
• cross-border cooperation (economic, social and cultural).

Financing

For the 2000-06 period, total expenditure part-financed under PEACE II will be EUR 796 million. The Structural Fund contribution to this will be EUR 597 million, of which EUR 467 million in Northern Ireland (around 80% of the total) and EUR 130 million in the border counties of Ireland. Some 15% of the whole programme budget will be spent on cross-border projects.

The extension of PEACE II until 2006 has brought an extra EUR 144 million worth of funding for 2005-06.

The programme will draw on financing from the four Structural Funds in the 2000-06 period: 60% from the European Regional Development Fund, 32% from the European Social Fund, 7.5% from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and 0.5% from the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance.

In total the EU will provide 75% of total public spending under the programme, with the remaining 25% provided by public and private sources in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Eligibility and management

The beneficiaries of the projects run under PEACE II come from the sectors, fields, groups and communities hardest hit by the conflict. What is more, projects are expected to prioritise a cross-community approach.

The programme is administered by the "Special EU Programmes Body". This body is supervised by a monitoring committee whose members represent the different interest groups in Northern Ireland and the border regions of Ireland.

Most financing is administered by local partnerships and specialist non-governmental bodies in each sector. These structures also involve local councillors, union and employer representatives, the non-profit sector, representatives of the public interest and other groups with an interest in the local administration of the funds.

Background

Northern Ireland has been receiving financial support from the EU since the end of the 1980s, starting with the 1989-93 Community Support Framework for Northern Ireland.

The PEACE I programme (1995-99) was set up in July 1995. Between then and 1999 it part-financed EUR 692 million worth of expenditure under the Structural Funds.

Since 1989, the EU has also become one of the main contributors to the International Fund for Ireland. This Fund is an international organisation set up by an agreement between the governments of the UK and Ireland in 1986.

RELATED ACTS

PEACE I (1995-1999)

Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament of 7 December 1994 - "Special programme for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland" [COM(94) 607 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments [Official Journal L 193 of 31.07.1993].

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments [Official Journal L 193 of 31.07.1993].

PEACE II (2000-2006)

Commission communication of 12 October 2006 "Report on the International Fund for Ireland pursuant to Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 177/2005 " [COM(2006) 563 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

Council Regulation (EC) No 173/2005 of 24 January 2005 amending Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds concerning the extension of the duration of the PEACE programme and the granting of new commitment appropriations [Official Journal L 29 of 02.02.2005].

EU contributions to the International Fund for Ireland:

Council Regulation (EC) No 1968/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning Community financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (2007 to 2010) [Official Journal L 409 of 30.12.2006].

Council Regulation (EC) No 177/2005 of 24 January 2005 concerning Community financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (2005-06) [Official Journal L 30 of 03.02.2005].

Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/2002 of 10 December 2002 concerning Community financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (2003-2004) [Official Journal L 341 of 17.12.2002].

Council Regulation (EC) No 214/2000 of 24 January 2000 concerning Community financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland [Official Journal L 24 of 29.01.2000].

Last updated: 08.01.2007