EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS

Early day motion 1507, tabled 2 July 1998 by Lord Watts (Labour). Signed by 99 members.

That this House supports Her Majesty's Government's efforts to secure a fair outcome to the reform of European structural funds such as will fully reflect the problems of structural decline in the United Kingdom and the position of the United Kingdom as the fourth poorest member state of the European Union; in particular calls for flexibility in the determination of the point of access to eligibility for Objective One status, which is currently set at per capita gross domestic product of below 75 per cent. of the EU average; with regard to the determination of eligibility for Objective Two status, challenges the European Commission approach of distributing funding largely on the basis of unemployment; and instead calls for the application of a wider range of criteria, such as per capita gross domestic product at the member state level, which will more accurately measure the economic and social conditions of the regions of the United Kingdom.

Signatures by party: Labour 82, Liberal Democrat 9, Labour/Co-operative 7, Plaid Cymru 1.