18.02.04
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly likely to qualify for second round of Objective One

The European Commission has today confirmed that under its proposals Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are likely to qualify for another round of Objective One funding after 2006. However, it will be many months before the details are known and will depend on negotiations between member states, including the UK Government, and the Commission. A final decision may not come until the end of 2005.

In a report published today (Feb 18), the EC has outlined its proposed regional spending budget for the period 2007 to 2013, and says that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are likely to qualify for a further multi-million pound package of investment after the existing Objective One programme ends in 2006.

This is because Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly's GDP remains below 75% of the European average, even after 10 new member states join on May 1. Figures published today by Eurostat confirm this.

But there will now follow many months of negotiations between EU member states about how much money they are willing to put into the EU's regional funding pot, and Chancellor Gordon Brown has signalled that he would prefer to see funding programmes like Objective One scrapped in favour a new funding scheme run from Whitehall.

It is not yet clear under the UK Government's proposals whether there is a guarantee that the Chancellor would invest the same amount in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as would come from Europe.

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership, said: "Today's announcement by the European Commission that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are likely to qualify for further investment is fantastic news. It reflects the very low economic base from which we started when we were first awarded Objective One in 1999 and the need for a long-term integrated investment programme. However, at present it is still far too early to say how much additional funding we would receive, or the nature of the investments. The coming months will be crucial. In Europe's eyes, the existing Objective One Programme in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is performing extremely well but there is a need for long term investment that stretches beyond the present Objective One Programme.”

Editor's notes:

Jason Clark
Communications Adviser
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
objectiveone@cornwall.gov.uk

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