Europe and Wales: Investing in your future ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport
How EU funds are putting Wales on the road to recovery Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, discusses the £3.5bn European funding programmes to boost jobs and growth
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E are determined to put Wales firmly on the road to recovery – with European funding giving extra impetus. Our European Structural Funds programmes are making good progress, with a total investment of over £2.6bn agreed, half of that from Brussels. We are already making good use of EU funds, including Convergence, to help Wales’ recovery. In North Wales and Ceredigion, Structural Funds projects have already supported nearly 21,000 participants, of which over 1,300 have been helped into work and more than 8,000 supported to gain qualifications. In addition, over 1,000 (gross) jobs and 250 new enterprises have been created. These achievements show how our management of EU funds gives Wales an extra edge, enabling us to draw
down resources from Brussels and support a wide range of measures. For example, thousands of workers have already been helped to stay in work thanks to the Welsh Assembly Government’s unique ProAct scheme. ReAct, another initiative channelling resources from the European Social Fund, is helping thousands of redundant workers gain new employment or training. EU funds are also helping a new generation of Welsh entrepreneurs with a range of initiatives, including the Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme launched in Rhyl earlier this year. Investment in R&D is of vital importance for developing the Welsh economy. I was pleased to give the go-ahead for the £22m Research, Development and Innovation Support for Business Fund. Backed with
European funding, this will provide individual enterprises with up to £0.2m each to finance feasibility studies, industrial research and experimental development. Another crucial goal is tackling climate change – the number one problem facing the world but a crisis that also opens up huge opportunities for developing new ways of generating energy, cutting waste and improving efficiency. We have supported schemes such as the Low Carbon Research Institute Energy Programme, involving Bangor University, while in March I announced plans to use up to £34m to improve the energy efficiency of low income Welsh homes, boosting green jobs and helping us achieve our ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 3% a year. My goal is to see EU funding
driving forward our commitment of promoting greater social inclusion and equality, in line with our One Wales programme of government. We are making steady progress in improving broadband access for rural areas. Objective 1 funding helped the North Wales’ FibreSpeed project get off the ground – the first of its kind in the UK – bringing significant enhancement of our country’s fibre optic infrastructure. I am now planning to use Convergence funding to continue the improvement of broadband coverage for businesses and communities following an agreement with the European Commission. We are also putting resources into the regeneration of communities facing particular economic and social challenges, such as the Môn a Menai region.
There is no doubt that devolved government is proving a major asset in securing advances in the way we make EU funds work for Wales. The £150m JEREMIE Wales fund provides debt and equity investments to small and medium sized businesses throughout Wales. Last year, I also announced success in securing changes to the ‘intervention rates’ – meaning that we can get EU funded projects up and running without having to secure as high a level of match funding. Now I look ahead to building on this progress, continuing to work with partners across Wales in getting the greatest possible benefit for our country from the European Structural Funds. Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport