Whether the creation of a south of Scotland region eligible for Objective 1, statistical effect or transitional funding was discussed by th…

In order for the south of Scotland region to be eligible for the Commission’s proposed Convergence funding, it would need to be reclassified as a NUTS II region. The issue of reclassification was raised by the Executive with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Office of National Statistics, but it was made clear that reviews of NUTS boundaries were the overall responsibility of Eurostat. The latter has stated that it will not authorise any changes to existing NUTS boundaries until the beginning of 2008 – after the conclusion of the current Structural Funds negotiations. At present, under the Commission’s proposals, the south of Scotland would be eligible for Competitiveness Objective funding.
The contribution that Structural Funds have made to Scotland in the past, including the south of Scotland, was discussed with Commissioner Hubner at the recent meeting. However, in light of the Executive’s earlier inquiries, the issue of the south of Scotland’s eligibility for Objective 1 status was not raised.