Brussels, 27/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to an analysis paper published on Tuesday 4 August by the Conference of the Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), the socio-economic disparities between the centre and periphery of Europe have become more pronounced.
The study is based on the analysis of regional GDP statistics for the regions between 2012 and 2013 carried out by the CPMR. A press release by this organisation explained that “Regionally speaking, if the latest regional GDP statistics were used to calculate regional eligibility for Structural Funds, 32 regions would change category of regions: 31 of them would move down a category, whilst only one would move up. Particularly, the Region of Madeira, in Portugal would move down from the more developed regions category to the less developed regions category”.
Furthermore, disparities of development have increased between regions of the same country. This is particularly true in the United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Greece and Portugal, countries that have experienced the most regional changes. Some member states have recorded negative growth in all regions, such as Spain, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Ireland, Finland and Croatia.
At the other end of the spectrum, certain member states have displayed excellent economic health, such as Poland, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia and even Malta. Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic have recorded overall positive regional growth, while Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom have had more mixed results. With the exception of Austria, all member states that experienced growth in all regions are those that were part of the 2004 and 2007 waves of enlargement.
The European Commission is expected to recalculate the allocation of structural funds in spring 2016 on the basis of statistics for 2012 and 2013 (and certainly 2014). This will lead to certain fund readjustments allocated to the member states and regions, in an effort to compensate for the effects of the crisis. Nonetheless, adjustments cannot exceed €4 billion. It should be noted that the territorial reform currently being undertaken in France will have an impact on the eligibility of French regions in the context of cohesion policy.
The eligibility of cohesion policy is calculated on the basis of regional GDP (NUTS II level) combined with the Purchasing Power Standard (PPS). As a general rule, a three-year average is taken into account to work out the regional category in this respect (most developed, in transition, least developed). (Pascal Hansens)