Brussels, 13/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 12 June, the European Commission adopted France's national framework reference strategy (NFRS), in which the French authorities explain how they are going to use around €13.5bn of Structural Funds for stimulating growth and job creation in the French regions over the next seven years. The Commission therefore validated the NFRS priorities, the indicative annual allocations and the list of operational programmes.
Strategic priorities focus on 4 areas: 1) economic environment and support for enterprise (particularly SMEs) with specific emphasis on research and innovation, which the commissioner for regional policy, Danuta Hübner, was particularly pleased about; 2) training and employment for priority categories (young people experiencing integration difficulties, women and immigrants), human resources management and social inclusion, sectors that help to implement the revised Lisbon strategy, which particularly delighted the commissioner for social affairs, Vladimir Spidla; 3) the environment, risk prevention and regional policy; 4) territorial sustainable development. Danuta Hübner also welcomed “the decision taken by the national authorities to include the ERDF programmes in a perspective of carbon neutrality in order to respect France's commitments in the Kyoto Protocol”.
France's NFRS priorities will be implemented through 36 operational programmes covering “convergence” and “regional competitiveness and employment” objectives. 31 of these will be funded out of the ERDF to the tune of €8.055bn. The other 5 programmes (one of them is a national programme) will be funded by the ESF for a total amount of €5.394bn. Overseas departments will receive aid of €3.2bn.
All member states have addressed their NFRS to the Commission and more than a third of them have been approved (see others in EUROPE 9423). Info: (http: //http://www.ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/ atlas2007/fiche/fr_fr.pdf). (gb)