2007OctEUboost

A seven-year plan to boost the Welsh economy got underway today when First Minister, Rhodri Morgan and Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones launched a key European Union fund which will generate an investment of more than £1.8 billion and increase economic growth.

The £856 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which forms part of the new Convergence programmes 2007-2013 for West Wales and the Valleys, will be officially launched at an event in Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Together with match funding, the ERDF Convergence programme will invest £1.8 billion to help boost the knowledge economy, help new and existing businesses to grow and develop, and regenerate the region’s most deprived communities. It will also be used to tackle climate change and improve transport in the region.

The ERDF launch event comes rapidly after the ESF launch. It therefore clears the way for the implementation of the overall £1.4 billion Convergence programme which will generate a total investment of around £3 billion into the region with first project approvals expected towards the end of the year.

Mr Morgan said;

We are now in a position to press ahead with the implementation of the Convergence programmes and deliver our ambitious plans to continue Wales’ transformation into a dynamic, thriving, fully competitive economy. This programme will place jobs and growth high on the agenda, bringing economic, social and environmental improvements to the region. The European Regional Development Fund will help us tackle some of the key issues that we face in Wales giving support to R&D and innovation, energy and the environment, and will help us to regenerate the poorest communities.

High-tech manufacturing and services is the way forward for Wales, and the upward momentum in skills across the board has to be the watchword.

We have used European funds to the full over the last seven years to help transform the economy of Wales, particularly in the development of new high tech scientific research and development facilities, from St Asaph to Swansea and elsewhere.

We now have 146,000 more people in employment than we had in 1999. Our growth in employment overall is 12 per cent – 13 per cent in the Objective 1 area – which is almost double the 7% growth rate in the UK as a whole, itself a healthy growth rate by European standards.

The event follows the launch of the European Social Fund (ESF) last month in Swansea when Rhodri Morgan and Ieuan Wyn Jones outlined how ESF would be used to increase the employability and skills of people across Wales so they can enter and remain in the workforce.

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said:

The Convergence programme provides us with the opportunity to deliver real improvement for the economy of West Wales and the Valleys. The 2007-2013 programmes are designed to drive forward the progressive agenda set out in the ‘One Wales’ document – an agenda that underlines our ambition for businesses and communities to flourish in every part of our country.

Through the Objective 1 programme 2000–2006 over 900 projects have been supported which have brought benefits to businesses and communities across Wales. By the end of the programming period, Objective 1 is expected to create up to 40,500 jobs and up to 1,900 new businesses. It is also assisting 85,000 people into employment or further training.

Danuta Hübner, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy congratulated the Welsh Assembly Government on its achievement, being the first UK region to have its programme approved and for the strength of its targets.

She said:

The Welsh Convergence ERDF programme 2007-2013 is even more ambitious than the 2000-2006 ERDF programme with 70 per cent of investment being earmarked for jobs and sustainable growth. This strategy is already working in Wales – parts of North Wales now have the highest employment rates in the entire EU.

I hope this ambitious approach will enable West Wales and the Valleys to realise their full potential.