Brussels, 31/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 31 July, the European Commission announced it had sealed an agreement with the British government on the United Kingdom's plan and priorities under cohesion policy for the period 2007-2013.
In their National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), the United Kingdom authorities describe how they plan to invest £9.9 billion over seven years in line with the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. In practical terms, London has approved the following priorities for 2007-2013: - enterprise and innovation (promoting research, knowledge transfer and commercialisation of new products and services, and support for development of SMEs, etc.); - skills and employment; - environmental and Community sustainability. The NSRF for the United Kingdom is available online at: http: //http://www.berr.gov.uk/consultations/page28796.html. (hb)