The Structural and Cohesion Funds 2007-2013

What are the Structural and Cohesion Funds?

The Structural and Cohesion Funds are the European Union’s main financial instruments for supporting social and economic restructuring across the EU. They account for over one third of the EU budget and are used to tackle regional disparities and support regional development.

The Structural and Cohesion Funds have three key Objectives:

i. Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective (RCE) to strengthen the competitiveness, employment and attractiveness of regions other than those which are the most disadvantaged. Programmes must help to anticipate economic and social changes, promote innovation, entrepreneurship, protection of the environment, accessibility, adaptability and the development of inclusive labour markets.

ii. Convergence Objective to help the least-developed Member States and regions catch up more quickly with the EU average by improving conditions for growth and employment.

iii. European Territorial Co-operation Objective for strengthening cross-border co-operation through joint local and regional initiatives, trans-national co-operation aiming at integrated territorial development, and interregional co-operation and exchange of experience.

These three key objectives are financed by three Structural Funds (financial instruments):

i. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which supports research, innovation, business development and infrastructure investment;

ii. The European Social Fund (ESF) which supports training, enhancing access to employment and social inclusion, and;

iii. The Cohesion Fund, which supports large scale transport and environmental infrastructure projects in the poorer Member States (with a GNI below 90% of the EU average). The UK does not receive a Cohesion Fund allocation.

Structural and Cohesion Fund support involves an element of co-financing and all projects carried out under the Funds are required to comply with EU legislation, particularly with regard to competition, the environment and public procurement.

National Strategic Reference Framework

The National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) sets out the UK priorities for support from the Structural Funds for 2007-2013 and establishes three high-level themes for spending:

• Innovation and enterprise,
• Employment and skills,
• Environmental and community sustainability.

The NSRF includes five chapters that set out the priorities for the Structural Funds Programmes in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. Each of these five chapters includes priorities for spending from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) under both the Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives.

The UK published its NSRF in October 2006. The NSRF is a requirement of the 'EU Regulations for the Structural and Cohesion Funds for 2007-2013'. The UK NSRF was adopted by the European Commission on 30 July 2007.

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