Jim Higgins
Ceist:60 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Finance the commitments received at the Edinburgh Summit in December 1992; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Edinburgh Summit Commitments.
The conclusions of the European Council at Edinburgh did not set out specific details on the share of Structural and Cohesion funding for each member state. The conclusions of meetings of the European Council do not carry such detailed and technical information.
The conclusions of the Edinburgh Council stated, and I quote, that "expenditure on Structural Actions should be concentrated on the least prosperous member states, outermost regions and rural areas of the Community in accordance with Article 130A of the Maastricht Treaty."
The conclusions further stated that, for the four Cohesion Fund member states, the figures set out will permit a doubling of commitments under Objective 1 and the Cohesion Fund between 1992 and 1999. They specified that "for the four Cohesion Fund member states this means about 85becu over the period 1993-1999." The conclusions further specified that, in the allocation of the funds, "full account should be taken, as now, of national prosperity, regional prosperity, population of the regions, and the relative severity of structural problems, including the level of unemployment and, for the appropriate objectives, the needs of rural development".
In application of the conclusions of the Edinburgh European Council, the Commission must make an indicative financial allocation to member states, using the above procedures and on the basis of objective criteria.