European Regional Development Fund

  • Regions with promotion after "Convergence"
  • Regions with phasing-out promotion (decreasing transition assistance )
  • Regions with phasing-in promotion (increasing transition assistance )
  • Regions with funding by the "Regional competitiveness and employment"

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, colloquially EU regional funds ) is an important structural funds of the European Union, which is to ensure the economic catching-up of poorer regions. To achieve this, including medium-sized enterprises are supported, thus creating permanent jobs, carried out infrastructure projects and technical assistance measures are applied.

The ERDF can operate within the framework of three goals in the period 2007-2013:

Objectives

During the promotion after the third goal deserve all regions who pursue such activities, the first two objectives are each targeted to different groups of regions: the highly doped funding from the "Convergence" objective are only the regions with the lowest gross domestic product ( GDP) per capita to, which actually takes place a redistribution from richer to poorer regions.

"Convergence"

The "Convergence" objective (until 2006 known as " Objective 1 " ) is entitled to regions whose GDP per inhabitant is less than 75 percent of the EU average. Through the convergence objective the modernization of the economic structure and its job creation is aimed mainly. The under-utilization of funds are higher than for the other promotion goals. With the aim of convergence convergence of poorer regions of the EU average to be achieved.

Under the "Convergence" objective, the achievement of the following basic objectives are to:

  • Modernization and diversification of economic structures
  • Creation of sustainable employment
  • Stimulation of economic growth
  • Focus on areas with special characteristics: urban, remote, mountainous, sparsely populated, and peripheral regions of the EU

"Regional competitiveness and employment"

The "Regional competitiveness and employment" will to all regions that have no funding granted under the "Convergence" objective. The priorities of the "Regional competitiveness and employment" are to strengthen the research, development, financial engineering as well as in the environment and risk prevention. Overall, the grant funds are here less extensive than in the promotion after the "Convergence" objective.

Under the "Regional competitiveness and employment" to achieve the following basic objectives are to:

  • Innovation and knowledge society ( research and technological development, innovation and entrepreneurship, financial engineering )
  • Environmental protection and risk prevention ( cleaning polluted areas, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly urban transport, risk prevention plans )
  • Access to transport and telecommunications

"European territorial cooperation "

The "European territorial cooperation " focuses on the cross-border economic and social development, transnational ( between regions within a certain area of the EU) and interregional ( between any regions of the EU ) cooperation. The funding provided for this account for the smallest share of the Fund.

Under the "European territorial cooperation " to achieve the following basic objectives are to:

  • Cross-border economic, social and environmental activities
  • States -border cooperation (including bilateral cooperation between maritime regions )
  • Trans-regional cooperation (including networking and exchange of experience between regional and local authorities )

Transition Assistance: phasing-out and phasing-in

To allow for regions that have increasing prosperity no longer eligible for funding under the "Convergence" objective, a smooth transition to lower funding under the 'competitiveness' to, there is a system of decreasing transitional assistance.

  • So-called phasing-out funds are available for regions whose GDP during the eligibility period 2000-2006 among 75 percent of the overall EU average was ( former Objective 1 regions ), and their prosperity is still less than 75 percent of the average of the then EU Member States but now more than 75 percent of the overall average, as through the EU. extensions since 2004, in which several relatively poor countries joined the EU, GDP per capita in the EU as a whole fell The phasing-out assistance based on the amount of funding for the "Convergence" and be gradually reduced.
  • Phasing-in help is available for regions whose GDP during the eligibility period 2000-2006 among 75 percent of the EU average was ( former Objective 1 regions ) whose GDP but now more than 75 percent of the average of the EU members before 2004 ( EU-15) is. The phasing-in aids are below the phasing-out assistance and are also reduced gradually to finally reach the level of ordinary funding under the "competitiveness and employment".

More Structural Funds

In addition to the regional funds, there is yet another structural funds, which promotes partially similar goals to the ERDF:

  • The European Social Fund ( ESF), which was established in 1958 on establishing the European Economic Community, and granted funding under the criteria of the "Convergence" and " Regional competitiveness and employment ".
Assembly of European Regions
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