92002E3276

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3276/02

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 November 2002)

Subject: Isle of Wight

Could the Commission please say how much aid the Isle of Wight is eligible for under the NUTS 2 programme and, also, why the Commission and the British Government have decided that it should be ineligible for structural funds under Objective II?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(20 December 2002)

The European Union supports programmes for economic development in predefined eligible areas under Objectives 1 and 2 of the Structural funds. It also operates an number of other programmes and initiatives where there are no predetermined eligible areas.

According to Article 3, §1 of Council Regulation 1260/1999, The regions covered by Objective 1 shall be regions corresponding to level II of the Nomenclature of Territorial Statistical Units (NUTS II) whose per capita GDP, measured in purchasing power parities, and calculated on the basis of Community figures the last three years available on 26 March 1999, is less than 75 % of the Community average. For Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the relevant NUTS 2 region in this context, the data revealed a GDP per head of 97,2 % of the Community average, and accordingly, the region was not included on the list of regions covered by Objective 1 of the Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006.

With regard to Objective 2 of the Structural Funds, the preparation of the list of eligible areas was undertaken in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, giving Member States the initiative to propose areas. The Commission's role was to check for consistency with the regulations in order to ensure that the areas selected were those facing the most serious problems. In the event, the UK authorities did not propose to include the Isle of Wight among its Objective 2 areas, and the region did not therefore feature on the final list published on 30 March 2002.

While the Isle of Wight is not eligible to receive structural support under Objective 1 or Objective 2 for the period 2000-2006, it is eligible for support from the Structural Funds in the context of other programmes and initiatives operating during the current period. These include the human resources programmes under Objective 3, the Interreg Community Initiative and the Innovative Actions programmes. In addition, the region is also eligible for support under the rural development programme for England which has a financial allocation of EUR 615,2 million from the Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2000-2006.