Cornish translation available soon

What was the process?

Objective One was one of three programmes set up to help reduce differences in social and economic conditions within the European Union (These three funding programmes were the biggest area of European spending after the Common Agricultural Policy).

Of the three, Objective One was the highest priority designation for European aid and was targeted at areas where prosperity, measured in Gross Value Added (GVA) per head of population, was 75% or less of the European average.

The Objective One programme made £350 million in European investment available – the exact amount is not definite because the sum awarded was in the Euro and the precise final figure was dependent on exchange rates.

The European money had to be matched, across the programme as a whole, with the same amount of UK money. This match funding came through investment from various public bodies. Other funds were also provided from the private sector (levels of investment and the amount of match funding varied, however, for individual projects).

The four funds and the proportion they provided of the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly programme were: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – 60.4%; European Social Fund (ESF) – 20.3%; European Agricultural Advice & Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) – 15.9%; and Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) – 3.4%.