Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that European funding, known as structural funds, ran in six year cycles.  Northern Ireland had received benefit to date of 800 million Euros and was benefiting currently from the following funds in the 2007-2013 programming round:

-     European Regional Development Fund (distributed via the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment) – 300 million Euros

-     European Structural Fund (distributed through the Department of Employment and Learning) – 300 million Euros

-     INTERREG IVA (distributed via the Special European Union Programmes Body) – 256 million Euros

-     Rural Development Programme (distributed by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) – 600 million Euros

-     Peace III (distributed via the Special European Union Programmes Body) – 333 million Euros

            In addition to the mainstream funds outlined above, Northern Ireland stakeholders could avail also of a wide range of European funding programmes by applying directly to Europe or through nationally appointed contact points.  The Committee would be aware of many of those funds and the fact that the Council, though the European Unit, had secured a significant amount of funding in recent years both for the Council and City stakeholders.

            The Committee was advised that there remained a highly significant level of European funding available to Northern Ireland and Europe as a whole to the end of the current funding period, that is, December 2013 and work was being undertaken by the European Unit in order to agree a way forward to prioritise and maximise such funding opportunities for the Council.

            The Director of Development advised the Committee that stakeholders across Europe, including City governments, were already looking to influence the shape of funding in the next programming round which was 2014-2020.  Member States across Europe were currently in the grips of an economic recession and had competing priorities with much less funding.  There were a number of developments underway presently at the European Union level which would impact on decisions regarding future Structural Funds programming post-2013 and already quite a number of European cities and regions had written formally to their national governments, the European Commission and the European Parliament to begin to set out their positions and priorities to try and influence the thinking and planning that was underway.

            He reported that the Department of Finance and Personnel, the lead Government Department in Northern Ireland for European Union Structural Funds, had advised the Council that the time for consultation with stakeholders on the likely funding opportunities and priorities would be mid to late 2011.  However, having spoken to representatives of the other European Union cities and having tracked also the ongoing Eurocities lobby, it was important that Belfast began to formulate its position now based on existing and emerging information.  Accordingly, an early position paper, copies of which had been circulated to the Members, had been prepared which outlined the strategic context for forming a Council view and trying to establish a position in terms of what the Council would like to see in a new European Union programming round for Northern Ireland 2014-2020.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided and approved the submission of the early position paper in relation to the Council’s views on European Union Structural Funding post-2013 to the Department of Finance and Personnel, the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the Department for Employment and Learning, the Department for Social Development, the European Commission and the European Parliament.