Cohesion policy 2007-13 : national strategic reference frameworks.
Date: 2008-05-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy
Subjects: EU Member State, Structural Funds, aid recipient, distribution of aid, operational programme, regional policy, use of aid

EN

Cohesion Policy 2007-13
National Strategic 
Reference Frameworks

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January 2008

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Foreword

The  27  National  Strategic  Reference  Frameworks  agreed  on  this 
year  by  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission,  set  out  the 
investment priorities for the new generation of regional and secto-
ral programmes to be supported by the European Union over the 
seven-year  period  2007-13.  They  draw  their  inspiration  from  the 
priorities  adopted  by  the  Member  States  in  October  2006  in  the 
“Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion”.

In  accordance  with  the  Guidelines,  the  strategies  conﬁ rm  that 
cohesion policy has today become the major source of investment 
from  the  European  budget  directly  contributing  to  the  Lisbon 
Strategy,  as  agreed  in  2005  and  which  aims  to  boost  economic 
growth  and  job  creation  throughout  the  Union.  The  programmes  seek  to  support  the  mod-
ernisation and diversiﬁ cation of national and regional economies, improve competitiveness and 
underpin eﬀ orts to maintain macroeconomic stability.

This  brochure  sets  out  the  strategies  in  detail,  country-by-country,  identifying  the  investment 
plans they contain, the regions targeted and the impacts expected. Also included  is  an  initial 
indication of the level of investment Member States intend to undertake in support of the pri-
ority ﬁ elds of the Lisbon Strategy such as research, innovation and new information technolo-
gies, energy eﬃ  ciency and the development and use of renewable and alternative energies, the 
promotion  of  entrepreneurship,  increasing  the  adaptability  of  the  labour  force,  environmen-
tal  protection  and  risk  prevention,  and  Trans-European  Transport  Networks.  In  addition,  the 
strengthening of institutions and institutional capacities is an important element in almost all 
countries receiving support for less developed (“Convergence”) regions. The majority of the new 
programmes in the national strategies will be targeted geographically, at national or regional 
level,  and  will  combine  investments  in  the  diﬀ erent  ﬁ elds  using  a  fully  integrated  approach, 
exploiting synergies and extending the overall impact on growth and jobs. The strategies reﬂ ect 
the principle that a one-size-ﬁ ts-all approach should not be taken and also address the diversity 
of national and regional circumstances and development potential.

The strategies and their programmes have been developed in partnership between the Com-
mission  and  national,  regional  and  local  authorities  as  well  as  economic  and  social  partners, 
NGOs and other key players. This involvement is important for exploiting local knowledge and 
spreading ownership of the Lisbon Strategy at grassroots level.

The  implementation  of  27  national  strategies  and  over  420  operational  programmes  is  only 
the beginning of the process. It now falls to the management authorities in Member States to 
ensure that by selecting the best projects, the programmes will have a real impact on growth 
and jobs for the beneﬁ t of citizens. The Commission stands ready to support the authorities over 
the coming period.

Danuta Hübner
Commissioner for Regional Policy

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3

Table of contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Building a Union of modern, attractive and dynamic regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Bulgaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Czech Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Denmark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Estonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Ireland  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Greece  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Cyprus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Latvia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Lithuania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Luxembourg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Malta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Netherlands  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Austria  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Poland  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Portugal  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Slovenia  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Slovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

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4

Building a Union of modern, 
attractive and dynamic regions

Allocation by objective

Phasing-out: 4%

Cohesion Fund: 20%

Financial Resources

  for  the  Convergence 

The available resources amount 
to  €308.041  billion  (in  2004 
prices)  or  €347.410  billion  (in 
today’s prices)
• 
81.5%
objective
  for  the  Regional  Com-
16%
petitiveness  and  Employ-
ment objective
 for the European Terri-
2.5%
torial Cooperation objective

• 

• 

Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment: 12.6%

Phasing-in : 3.4%

Cross-border Cooperation: 1.8%

Transnational
Cooperation: 0.5%

Interregional/network
Cooperation 0.1%

‘PEACE’ Programme: 0.1%

During  this  period,  the  European 
Regional  Development  Fund,  the 
European Social Fund and the Cohe-
sion  Fund  will  contribute  to  three 
objectives: 81.5% of the total amount 
will  be  concentrated  on  the  Conver-
gence  objective,  under  which  the 
poorest  Member  States  and  regions 
are eligible; in the remaining regions, 
16% of the Structural Funds will focus 
on supporting innovation, sustainable 
development, better accessibility and 
training  projects  under  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective;    the  remaining  2.5%  will 
be available for cross-border, transna-
tional  and  interregional  cooperation 
under the European Territorial Coop-
eration objective.

Cohesion policy programmes at 
the heart of the Lisbon strategy

With  the  reforms  proposed  by  the 
Commission  in  2004  and  endorsed 
by  the  Parliament  and  the  Member 
States  in  2006,  European  cohesion 
policy  has  become  one  of  the  prin-
cipal  Community  policies  for  the 
delivery  of  the  Union’s  growth  and 
jobs  agenda,  the  so-called  “Lisbon 
strategy”. To help achieve the Lisbon 
objectives,  certain  spending  targets 
for  the  Structural  Funds  have  been 
agreed (see box). 

Regions with a per capita GDP less than 
75% of the EU average: 57.5%

More  growth  and  jobs  for  all 

regions  and  cities  of  the 
European Union – this is the 
message at the heart of the new Cohe-
sion policy for 2007-13. The European 
Cohesion policy is designed to bring 
about  concrete  results,  furthering 
economic  and  social  cohesion  and 
reducing gaps between development 
levels in the various regions. It brings 
added value to actions in the ﬁ eld by 
investing in real projects. The concept 
is  to  modernise  our  regions  so  that 
they can act as growth and competi-
tiveness drivers in our common Euro-
pean home. Regions will also be pro-
vided  with  support  for  exchanging 
ideas  and  best  practices. The  largest 
investment ever made by the EU will 
amount  to  some  €350  billion  and  is 
designed to support regional growth 
agendas and stimulate job creation.

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5

Setting targets for growth and jobs: the “Lisbon expenditure”
At  the  Lisbon  summit  in  March  2000,  European  Union  leaders  set  out  a  new  strategy  to  stimulate  growth  and 
employment and make Europe’s economy the most competitive in the world by 2010. This became known as the 
“Lisbon  Strategy”.  After  initially  moderate  results,  the “Lisbon  Strategy  for  growth  and  jobs”  was  simpliﬁ ed  and 
relaunched in 2005. 

In agreeing a ﬁ nancial perspective for 2007-2013, the Member States also decided that a certain proportion of the 
resources for the next generation of programmes should be reserved for investment in areas directly linked to the 
Lisbon Strategy including a speciﬁ c list of earmarked categories of expenditure for actions supporting areas such as 
research and innovation, the information society and sustainable development.

The Regulation sets earmarking targets of “Lisbon expenditure” at 60% for the Convergence Objective and 75% for 
the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective. The earmarking of the Lisbon expenditure is compulsory 
for the 15  Member States of the Union as constituted before 1 May 2004 (EU-15). The objective is that all Member 
States  concerned  should  achieve  the  earmarking  target  as  an  average  over  the  period.  Although  the  12  newer 
Member  States  (EU-12)  and  acceding  countries  are  not  covered  by  earmarking,  they  are  also  encouraged  to  set 
Lisbon targets. 

An  initial  review  of  the  new  genera-
tion of cohesion policy strategies and 
programmes for the period 2007-2013 
(*)  shows  that  most  of  the  Cohesion 
Policy budget will be invested in key 
Lisbon-related priorities.

For  the  less  developed  Convergence 
regions,  which 
together  account 
for  over  80%  of  cohesion  policy 
resources, 65% of the funds are to be 
invested  in  Lisbon-related  activities. 
This  represents  an  11%  increase  on 
the  previous  programming  period. 
Regions  with  programmes  falling 
under  the  Regional  Competitive-
ness and Employment Objective will 
invest  around  82%  of  the  funds  for 
2007-2013  in  Lisbon-related  priori-
ties, well in excess of the 75% target.

Naturally,  circumstances  dictate  that 
there are diﬀ erences between “older” 
and “newer”  Member  States.  For  the 
EU-15  (older)  Member  States,  the 
corresponding ﬁ gures are somewhat 
higher  at  74%  for  the  Convergence 
Objective  and  83%  for  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
Objective.  For  the  EU-12  (newer) 
Member States, the ﬁ gure is 59% for 
the  Convergence  Objective,  and  a 
similar  percentage  for  the  very  lim-
ited number of programmes in these 
Member States that are supported by 
the  Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment Objective.

The  ﬁ gures  for  individual  Member 
States  tend  to  vary  considerably.  At 
the top end, Convergence regions in 
Portugal  and  Spain  have  earmarked 
investments  averaging  80%  of  the 
total, while for Competitiveness regions 
the highest ﬁ gure is for Denmark, at 
92% of the total. While the ﬁ gures are 
more  modest  in  the  EU-12,  in  many 
of  these  regions  there  is  still  a  need 
for  investment  in  a  range  of  sectors 
fundamental  to  economic  progress. 
Encouragingly,  however,  Bulgaria, 
Poland  and  Romania,  with  extensive 
investment  needs  in  basic  national, 
regional and local infrastructure, have 
decided  to  concentrate  a  signiﬁ cant 
proportion  of  resources  on  Lisbon-
related priorities.

Contributing to EU priorities

The  2006  Spring  European  Council 
identiﬁ ed  four  priority  areas  under 
the  renewed  Lisbon  Strategy  on 
which  the  EU  and  Member  States 
should  focus  their  eﬀ orts:  investing 
more  in  knowledge  and  innovation; 
unlocking  business  potential,  par-
ticularly of SMEs; improving employ-
ability through ﬂ exicurity; and better 
management of energy resources. 

The  new  cohesion  programmes  put 
particular  emphasis  on  these  priori-
ties. More than €85 billion is allocated 
in  knowledge  and 
to 

investment 

innovation. The  promotion  of  entre-
preneurship emerges as another key 
theme  for  2007-2013.  Services  for 
business  support,  targeting  SMEs, 
will receive some €19 billion over the 
next seven years. 

The new programmes will also seek to 
improve employability through ﬂ exi-
curity. Around €13.5 billion has been 
allocated to help enterprises develop 
resource 
forward-looking  human 
strategies,  to  introduce  innovative 
and  more  productive  forms  of  work 
and  work  organisation,  and  to  ease 
the  transition  process  resulting  from 
restructuring.  Altogether  the  new 
programmes foresee around €32 bil-
lion to improve access to employment 
from  personal  assistance 
ranging 
to  modernisation  of  employment 
institutions.  The  ﬁ rst  estimations 
also  indicate  that  cohesion  policy 
will  support  various  components  of 
ﬂ exicurity  with  resources  of  around 
€50 billion over the next seven years. 
Recognising the important economic 
return on investment from education 
at  the  early  stages  of  life,  resources 
dedicated to improving human capi-
tal  will  also  signiﬁ cantly  increase  in 
this new programming period: some 
€25.3  billion  has  been  set  aside  to 
support the reform of education and 
training systems. 

(*)  Communication from the Commission “Member States and Regions delivering the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs through EU cohesion policy, 2007-13”,  COM(2007) 798, Brussels, 

11 December 2007. 

6

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Allocation of European Regional Development Fund/Cohesion Fund by theme – EU-27 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

2.2%

4%

18.7%

0.4%

0.4%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured people  0.1%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms,
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ eld of employment 
and inclusion 

0.3%

5.6%

6.2%

0.1%

Reduction of additional costs hindering the outermost 
regions development 

0.2%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

23.8%

0.6%

3%

2.3%

28.3%

3.8%

Allocation of European Social Fund by theme – EU-27 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  28.4%

Improving human capital 

32.9%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured people  13.1%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

17.8%

0.2%

0.2%

1.2%

0.1%

2.7%

3.3%

The  new  programmes  also  reﬂ ect  a 
strong emphasis on improving manage-
ment of energy resources and the move 
towards an eﬃ  cient and integrated EU 
energy policy. Compared to the period 
2000-2006,  investments  in  renewable 
energies  and  energy  eﬃ  ciency  will  be 
ﬁ ve  times  higher  under  the  Conver-
gence objective and seven times higher 
under  the  Regional  Competitiveness 
and Employment objective.

all,  some  €51  billion  is  expected  to 
be  invested  in  these  areas.  Member 
States  and  regions  eligible  for  fund-
ing under the Convergence objective 
or the Cohesion Fund have also given 
clear  priority  to  the  development  of 
the  Trans-European  Transport  Net-
works  (TEN-T).  Around  half  of  the 
entire  allocation  foreseen  for  trans-
port (€76 billion) will be allocated to 
TEN-T projects (€38 billion). 

The new cohesion policy programmes 
seek  to  create  win-win  situations  by 
strengthening  potential  synergies 
between  environmental  protection, 
risk  prevention  and  growth.  Over-

The Council recommended that some 
Member  States  develop  an  employ-
ment  lifecycle  approach  and  promote 
an  inclusive  labour  market  for  those 
groups  at  risk  of  social  exclusion.  The 

Implementation  Reports  of  Member 
States underline the important role of 
cohesion policy programmes in reaching 
25% of the long term unemployed with 
active  employment  measures  as  well 
as helping to ensure that every unem-
ployed person is oﬀ ered a new start.

Finally,  delivering  the  Lisbon  agenda 
depends  on  eﬀ ective  public  adminis-
trations  and  services.  Around  €3.6  bil-
lion will be used to support the mod-
ernisation  of  public  administrations 
and  services  at  national,  regional  and 
local levels. 

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7

Indicative allocation by Member State, 2007-13 
(current prices, in millions of euro)

Convergence 

Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment

Cohesion Fund

Convergence

Phasing-out

Phasing-in

Regional 
Competitiveness and 
Employment

European
Territorial
Cooperation

638

4 215

6 458

1 583

430

177

280

2 283

8 819

1 152

3 697

3 543

213

1 540

2 305

8 642

284

22 176

3 060

6 552

1 412

3 899

4 391

17 064

11 864

2 252

9 420

21 054

3 191

21 211

2 991

4 470

14 248

556

44 377

17 133

12 661

2 689

7 013

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Denmark

Germany

Estonia

Éire-Ireland

Greece

Spain

France

Italy

Cyprus

Latvia 

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Hungary

Malta

Netherlands

Austria

Poland

Portugal

Romania 

Slovenia

Slovakia

Finland

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

Interregional/Network 
Cooperation 

Technical Assistance 

2 738

174

1 425

419

510

9 409

293

3 522

10 257

5 353

50

1 660

1 027

490

449

1 051

1 626

6 014

458

635

4 955

972

399

2 031

448

545

965

194

179

389

103

851

52

151

210

559

872

846

28

90

109

15

386

15

247

257

731

99

455

104

227

120

265

722

445

Total

2 258

6 853

26 692

613

26 340

3 456

901

20 420

35 217

14 319

28 812

640

4 620

6 885

65

25 307

855

1 907

1 461

67 284

21 511

19 668

4 205

11 588

1 716

1 891

10 613

445

868

Total

69 578

199 322

13 955

11 409

43 556

8 723

347 410

NB: The ﬁ gures having been rounded oﬀ , the totals might not correspond.

Brochure_NSRF_v17.indd   8
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8

Cohesion Policy 2007-13 at a glance

(cid:71)(cid:50)(cid:69) (cid:79)(cid:73) (cid:39)(cid:41) (cid:51)
(cid:50)
(cid:71)(cid:69) (cid:79)(cid:73) (cid:39)(cid:41) (cid:51)

Convergence Regions

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness and Employment Regions

9

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Cooperation - Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance

Česká Republika

Slovensko

Österreich

Magyarország

Slovenija

Hrvatska

Bosna I
Hercegovina

Italia

Srbija

Crna
Gora

Poranešna
Jugoslovenska
Republika
Makedonija

Shqipëria

Moldova

România

България
Bulgaria

Ελλαδα
Elláda

Türkiye

Κυπρος
Kypros
Kıbrıs

Malta

Sources:
copyright EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries (NUTS regions)
other administrative boundaries: Global Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

15/01/2007

gRe oi GIS
R
ge oi GIS

EU 27 cooperation areas
Other cooperation areas

Warning: regional boundaries with non-EU countries 
are indacative only.

10

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Cross-border cooperation (ERDF)

(cid:71)(cid:50)(cid:69) (cid:79)(cid:73) (cid:39)(cid:41) (cid:51)
(cid:50)
(cid:71)(cid:69) (cid:79)(cid:73) (cid:39)(cid:41) (cid:51)

11

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Convergence – Cohesion Fund

From 2007 to 2013

States eligible for the Cohesion Fund
States eligible for Cohesion Fund transitional support

(cid:72)(cid:51)(cid:70) (cid:80)(cid:74) (cid:40)(cid:42) (cid:52)
(cid:51)
(cid:72)(cid:70) (cid:80)(cid:74) (cid:40)(cid:42) (cid:52)

The Cohesion Fund
Member  States  with  a  Gross  National  Income  less  than  90%  of  the  Community  average  will  receive  a  total  of  €70 
billion  (current  prices)  for  investment  programmes  in  the  ﬁ elds  of  environment  and  trans-European  transport 
networks. The Cohesion Fund will notably cover investments in Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, 
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia; in the case of Spain, this will be 
on a transitional basis. During the 2007-13 period, the Cohesion Fund and European Regional Development Fund will 
together contribute to multi-annual programmes which are managed in a decentralised way, thus avoiding the need 
for individual project approval by the Commission.

12

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Belgium

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

Strategic objectives

Taking 
into  consideration  Bel-
gium’s  institutional  structure,  each 
region  has  developed  a  strategy 
adapted to its own socio-economic 
characteristics. 

ERDF  (European  Regional  Develop-
ment Fund) ﬁ nancing will beneﬁ t: 
• 

  – 

to 
Brussels-Capital  Region
strengthen  territorial  cohesion  and 
maintain territorial competitiveness.
  –  to  promote  the 
Flemish  Region
knowledge  economy  and  innova-
tion,  stimulate  entrepreneurship, 
use  regional  features  that  attract 
interest,  and  promote 
economic 
urban development.
 - to boost business 
Walloon Region
and  job  creation,  develop  human 
capital,  knowledge,  know-how  and 
research,  and  ensure  balanced  and 
sustainable territorial development.

• 

• 

In  the  ESF  (European  Social  Fund) 
ﬁ nanced  area,  the  strategic  objectives 
are as follows: 
• 

Strengthening the adaptation capa-
bilities of workers and businesses.
Creating  jobs  for  young  and  old 
people,  and  for  immigrants  with 
low-level qualiﬁ cations.
Preventing unemployment.
Developing  diversity  and  ﬁ ght-
ing  discrimination  in  access  to  the 
labour market.
Strengthening  the  social  integra-
tion  of  targeted  groups  and  the 
disadvantaged.
Investing in human capital.
Implementing  measures  aimed  at 
encouraging  equal  opportunity  in 
access  to  training  and  the  labour 
market.
Promoting  and  integrating  innova-
tive measures.

• 

• 
• 

• 

• 
• 

• 

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

The  country  requires  a  strategy  for 
encouraging  investment  in  innova-
tion  and  the  marketing  of  high-tech 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Belgium 
will  beneﬁ t  from  European  regional 
aid  funds  in  the  amount  of  €2 258 
billion,  with  €638  million  going 
towards the Convergence objective, 
€1 425  billion  towards  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective  and  €194  million  towards 
the European Territorial Cooperation 
objective.

Regions to receive investment

The Walloon province of Hainaut will 
beneﬁ t from the Convergence objec-
tive. The remainder of Belgium is cov-
ered by the Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment objective.

In comparison to the 2000-06 period, 
Hainaut  province  will  –  due  to  sta-
tistical  results  –  continue  to  beneﬁ t 
from  the  Phasing-out  objective  (as 
it  is  a  region  that  would  have  been 
eligible  for  the  Convergence  objec-
tive  if  the  threshold  had  remained 
at  75%  of  the  average  GDP  of  the 
EU-15  instead  of  the  EU-25).  The 
entire  country  (excluding  Hainaut) 
will  beneﬁ t  from  the  Competitive-
ness  and  Employment  objective. 
Previously  only  certain  provinces 
received so-called “Objective 2” sub-
sidies (Meuse-Vesdres, Antwerp, part 
of  the  Namur  province,  the  entire 
province of Luxembourg, West Flan-
ders, East Flanders, etc.).

13

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products  and  services,  and  for  pro-
viding optimal incentives for research 
and development in line with the Lis-
bon objective, whereby 3% of GDP is 
to be dedicated to R&D by 2010.

sidies and 75% of Regional Competi-
tiveness  and  Employment  subsidies 
will go towards Lisbon priorities. 

Operational programmes

The authorities have adopted the Lis-
bon objectives: the employment rate 
should  approach  70%  for  the  total 
population, 60% for women and 50% 
for 55-64 year-old workers. 

Cohesion  policy  in  Belgium  will  be 
implemented via 10 operational pro-
grammes  ﬁ nanced  by  the  European 
Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF) 
and the European Social Fund (ESF). 

The programme should help establish 
tighter  cooperation  links  between 
public and private research units, an 
attractive  work  environment  for  the 
highly-qualiﬁ ed,  ﬁ nancing  channels 
suitable  for  venture  capital,  an  eﬃ  -
cient and coherent regulatory frame-
work,  reduced  administrative  proce-
dures and a non-distorting tax system 
conducive to business activity.

An investment for growth and jobs

In 
line  with  Community  goals, 
expenditure will be concentrated on 
the  Lisbon  Strategy  and  cohesion 
objectives. 60% of Convergence sub-

• 

Programmes  for  the  Convergence 
objective:
• 

Operational  programme  “Conver-
gence“ Hainaut - ESF.
Operational  programme  “Conver-
gence“ Hainaut - ERDF.

• 

Programmes  for  the  Regional  Com-
petitiveness 
Employment 
and 
objective:
• 

ESF  2007-13,  Belgium’s  German-
speaking community.
ESF 
programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment”  -  Troika  Wallonia 
(excluding 
Brussels 
(COCOF).

operational 

Hainaut) 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

operational 

operational 

operational 

ESF 
programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment” of the Federal State.
ESF 
programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment” of the Brussels-Cap-
ital Region: “Cohesion and Territo-
rial Competitiveness” .
ESF 
programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment” of Flanders.
ERDF  operational  programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment” of the Brussels-Cap-
ital Region: “Cohesion and Territo-
rial Competitiveness”.
ERDF  operational  programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment” of Flanders.
ERDF  operational  programme 
“Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment”  of Wallonia  (exclud-
ing Hainaut).

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Belgium in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Convergence Objective 

Community Contribution

Total

638 326 154

OP ERDF Hainaut

ERDF

449 229 535

OP ESF Hainaut

ESF

189 096 619

Competitiveness Objective

Community Contribution

Total

1 425 174 612

OP ERDF Brussels-Capital

ERDF

57 592 465

OP ESF Brussels-Capital  

OP ESF Federal State

ESF

ESF

28 877 624

45 064 810

OP ERDF Flanders Region

ERDF

200 946 241

OP ESF Flanders Region 

OP ESF German-speaking community

ESF

ESF

12 470 000

468 874 561

Information society 

OP ERDF Wallonia

ERDF

282 514 931

OP ESF Troïka Wallonia-Brussels

ESF

328 833 980

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

3.1%

2.6%

6.6%

0.3%

0.5%

2.1%

0.2%

59.2%

1.9%

3.2%

5.4%

14.9%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  39.5%

Improving human capital 

10.5%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  22.7%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of 
employment and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

23.9%

0.0%

0.2%

0.0%

3.1%

The National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) does not include programmes relating to the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

14

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Contact points in Belgium
Belgian authorities with overall responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministry of Wallonia – Directorate-general for economy and employment
Ministère de la Région wallonne – Direction générale de l’économie et de l’emploi
Place de la Wallonie 1
B-5100 Jambes
Tel:  +32 81 33 37 00

Flemish Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation
Vlaams Ministerie van Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie
Agentschap Economie
Entiteit Europa Economie
Koning Albert II-laan 35, bus 12
B-1030 Brussels
Tel:  +32 2 553 37 05

Ministry of Brussels-Capital Region
Ministère de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
Ministerie van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest
Cellule de Coordination et de Gestion du FEDER 2007-13
Rue du Progrès 80
B-1035 Brussels
Tel:  + 32 2 204 21 11

The NSRF text is available at: 
> 

http://europe.wallonie.be/apps/spip/IMG/pdf/CRSN_belge_ﬁ nal_juillet07.pdf

15

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Bulgaria

Convergence Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Bulgaria 
has  been  allocated  €6 853  billion  in 
total,  €6 674  billion  under  the  Con-
vergence  objective  and  €179  mil-
lion  under  the  European  Territorial 
Cooperation  objective.  To  comple-
ment  the  EU  investment  under  the 
National Strategic Reference Frame-
work,  Bulgaria’s  contribution  would 
amount  to  at  least  €1 345  billion  at 
current prices.

Regions to receive investment

Between 2007 and 2013, the entire Bul-
garian  population  of  7.8  million  peo-
ple  will  live  in  Convergence  regions, 
as all six regions of Bulgaria (Severoza-
paden, Severentsentralen, Severoizto-

chen, Yugozapaden, Yuzhentsentralen 
and Yugoiztochen) fall under the Con-
vergence objective.

Strategic objectives

The  National  Strategic  Reference 
Framework’s core targets refer to high 
and  sustainable  economic  growth, 
raising  the  competitiveness  of  the 
economy,  developing  human  capital 
and  ensuring  higher  employment 
and  income  as  well  as  better  social 
integration. To achieve these targets, 
the  NSRF  is  based  on  four  strategic 
objectives and priorities:
• 

Improving 
infrastruc-
basic 
ture  -  through  construction  and 
upgrading  of  roads  and  railways, 
information  and  communication 
technology,  environmental  infra-

16

• 

• 

• 

structures for wastewater and solid 
waste  collection  and  treatment, 
natural  risk  prevention  measures 
(ﬂ oods),  sustainable  energy  and 
gas distribution networks.
Increasing  the  quality  of  human 
capital  with  a  focus  on  employ-
ment - by developing a skilled and 
adaptable labour force, promoting 
occupational  health  and  safety, 
supporting education, training and 
life-long learning, raising the level 
of  social  inclusion  and  improving 
the  quality  of  social  services  and 
healthcare.
Fostering  entrepreneurship,  a 
favourable  business  environ-
ment  and  good  governance  -  by 
supporting 
innovation,  cluster 
development,  business  start-ups, 
modern management and sustain-
able  production,  facilitating  ven-
ture  capital  for  micro,  small  and 
medium-sized  enterprises,  as  well 
as promoting good governance in 
national, regional and local admin-
istrations  and  supporting  reform 
of the judicial system.
Supporting  balanced  territorial 
development - through integrated 
urban  development,  investing  in 
human capital and basic infrastruc-
ture  in  rural  areas  (contributing 
towards the National Strategy Plan 
for  Rural  Development),  creation 
and  modernisation  of  transport 
systems,  training,  tourism  devel-
opment,  local  business  develop-
ment,  and  preservation  of  natural 
and cultural heritage.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

In order to measure the impact of the 
investment,  Bulgaria  will  set  target 
indicators at the level of their opera-
tional  programmes.  Across  Bulgaria 
the  structural  funds  are  expected  to 
contribute  to  implementation  of  the 
Lisbon  agenda  for  jobs  and  growth. 
For  example,  by  2013  GDP  (Gross 
Domestic Product) per capita should 
increase  to  51%  of  the  EU  average, 

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the  employment  rate  should  reach 
64%, compared to 55.8% in 2005, and 
Research  and  Development  (R&D) 
expenditure  should 
increase  from 
0.4% to 1.15% of GDP in 2013.

An investment for growth and jobs

The  NSRF  strategy  will  provide 
the  Lisbon 
strong  support 
Agenda,  with  61%  of  funds  in  the 
Convergence objective allocated to 
related activities.

for 

Operational programmes

The initial indicative estimated break-
down of the Funds comprising total 
Community assistance will be €3 205 
billion in funding from the European 
Regional Development Fund (ERDF), 
€1 185  billion  from  the  European 
Social  Fund  (ESF)  and  €2 283  billion 
from the Cohesion Fund (CF).

Bulgaria  has  translated  the  strategic 
in  the  NSRF
priorities  contained 

 into seven operational programmes: 
administrative capacity, competitive-
ness, environment, human resources 
development, regional development, 
technical assistance and transport.

The  NSRF  does  not  cover  the  opera-
tional  programmes  within 
the 
European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Bulgaria in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Convergence Objective 

Community Contribution

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

ERDF & CF

Competitiveness 

ERDF

987 883 219

Regional Development

ERDF

1 361 083 545

Technical Assistance

ERDF

48 296 513

Transport

ERDF

368 809 733

CF

1 255 669 890

ERDF + CF

1 624 479 623

Environment 

ERDF

439 059 208

CF

1 027 366 273

ERDF + CF

1 466 425 481

 ESF

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

2.0%

4.4%

27.9%

0.6%

1.3%

4.5%

11.6%

4.9%

3.5%

1.7%

34.9%

2.7%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  31.0%

Improving human capital 

31.3%

Human Resources Development

Administrative Capacity

ESF

ESF

1 031 789 139

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  3.2%

153 670 724

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

14.1%

1.4%

Total  

Total 

Total 

ΕRDF

3 205 132 218

CF

2 283 036 163

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

1.7%

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

13.3%

4.0%

ΕSF

1 185 459 863

Technical assistance 

Funds Total 2007–13

6 673 628 244

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

Contact point in Bulgaria
Bulgarian authority with overall 
responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

Directorate for Management of EU Funds 
in the Ministry of Finance
Тel:  (+359 2) 9859 2901

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.eufunds.bg

17

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Czech Republic

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

– 

Development  of  a  sustainable 
travel and tourism sector and uti-
lisation  of  the  potential  oﬀ ered 
by the cultural heritage.

• 

Open,  ﬂ exible  and  cohesive 
society 

– 
– 

– 
– 

– 

and 

employment 

Education.
Increasing 
employability.
Strengthening social cohesion.
Development of the information 
society.
Smart administration.

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The  authorities  plan  to  support  the 
development  of  a  diverse,  socially 
aware  and  cohesive  society,  open 
to  outside  opportunities.  The  aim  is 
to  create  a  modern  education  sys-
tem  which  will  become  the  driving 
force behind an eﬃ  cient and ﬂ exible 
labour market. The authorities plan to 
reduce the administrative burden for 
businesspeople by at least 20%.
Attractive environment
• 

– 

– 

Protection  and  improvement  of 
the environment quality.
Improved  accessibility  to  trans-
port (for instance, increasing the 
share  of  railway  transport  and 
developing combined transport).

The investment

For  the  period  2007-13,  the  Czech 
Republic  has  been  allocated  €26.7 
billion  in  total,  €25.9  billion  under 
the  Convergence  objective,  €0.4 
billion under the Regional Competi-
tiveness and Employment objective, 
and €0.4 billion under the European 
Territorial  Cooperation  objective. 
To  complement  the  EU  investment 
under  the  National  Strategic  Refer-
ence  Framework,  the  Czech  Repub-
lic’s  contribution  will  be  €4.6  billion 
over 7 years.

Regions to receive investment

Central  Bohemia,  Central  Moravia, 
Moravi  Silesia,  South-West,  South-
East,  North-West  and  North-East 
regions  fall  under  the  Convergence 
objective,  while  the  Prague  region 

is  the  only  region  to  fall  under  the 
Regional 
and 
Employment objective.

Competitiveness 

• 

Between 2007 and 2013, 9.07 million 
people  (88.5%  of  the  total  popula-
tion) will live in Convergence regions. 
Between  2000  and  2006,  approxi-
mately  the  same  percentage  of  the 
population lived in regions supported 
under “Objective 1”.

Strategic objectives

As  laid  down  in  the  Czech  National 
Framework 
Reference 
Strategic 
(NSRF),  the  EU 
funding  will  be 
invested  in  four  strategic  objectives 
divided into 15 strategic priorities:
Competitive Czech economy
• 
Competitive business sector.
Support  of  Research  &  Develop-
ment capacity for innovation.

– 
– 

18

Balanced territory development
Balanced regional development.
Development of urban areas.
Development of rural areas.
Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment – the Capital City of 
Prague.
Territorial Cooperation.

– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

A  preliminary  evaluation  indicates 
that  the 
implementation  of  the 
Czech  NSRF  could  lead  to  attaining 
the economic level of the EU-25 with 
an  employment  rate  increasing  to 
66.8%,  compared  to  64.8%  in  2005. 
The  share  of  Research  &  Develop-
ment  in  GDP  is  presently  extremely 
low,  around  1.42%.  The  Czech 
Republic aims to raise this to 2.2% of 
GDP by 2015.

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An investment for growth and jobs

The Czech Republic’s NSRF increases 
the  share  of  investment  directly  ear-
marked  for  the  Lisbon  Strategy  for 
jobs  and  growth  in  relation  to  the 
2000-06 programming period.

Operational programmes

The  Czech  Republic’s  strategic  plan-
ning  for  the  2007-13  period  will  be 
implemented through 17 operational 
programmes (OPs):

ERDF  –  European  Regional  Devel-
(14  operational 
opment 
programmes)
• 

Fund 

4 sectoral operational programmes 
(Convergence objective)
7 regional operational programmes 
(Convergence objective)
1  operational  programme  Prague 
Competitiveness (Regional Competi-
tiveness and Employment objective)
2  multi-objective 
operational 
programmes 
(Convergence  and 
Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment objectives)

• 

• 

• 

ESF – European Social Fund (3 opera-
tional programmes)
• 

operational 
2  multi-objective 
programmes 
(Convergence  and 
Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment objectives)
1  operational  programme  Prague 
(Regional 
Adaptability 
Com-
petitiveness 
and  Employment 
objective)

• 

The NSRF does not cover the oper-
ational  programmes  within  the 
European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by the Czech Republic in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Convergence Objective

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

ERDF and CF

OP Enterprise and Innovations
OP Research and Development for 
Innovations

OP Environment

OP Transport

Integrated OP
Regional Operational Programmes
Central Bohemia
Southwest
Northwest
Southeast
Northeast
Moravia-Silesia
Central Moravia
OP Technical Assistance

ESF
OP Human Resources and Employment
OP Education for Competitiveness
Total Convergence Objective
of which: Regional Convergence
Total ERDF
Total ESF
Cohesion Fund

Competitiveness/Employment 
Objective

OP Prague Competitiveness
Integrated OP
OP Technical Assistance

ERDF

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF
CF

ERDF
CF
ERDF

ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

ESF
ESF

3 041 312 546

2 070 680 884

4 917 867 098
702 482 212
4 215 384 886
5 774 081 203
1 170 443 650
4 603 637 553
1 553 010 664
4 659 031 986
559 083 839
619 651 254
745 911 021
704 445 636
656 457 606
716 093 217
657 389 413
243 835 110

1 811 845 772
1 811 845 772
25 883 511 035
17 064 488 596
13 440 797 052
3 623 691 544
8 819 022 439

Community Contribution

ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

234 936 005
29 379 498
3 948 062

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

2.3%

5.2%

19.0%

0.2%

0.1%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons 0.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

1.4%

4.1%

5.4%

0.0%

18.3%

0.6%

3.1%

3.1%

33.4%

3.8%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  18.0%

Improving human capital 

40.5%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons 9.7%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

18.0%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

0.6%

9.7%

3.5%

Technical assistance 

ESF
ESF
ESF

OP Prague Adaptability
OP Human Resources and Employment
OP Education for Competitiveness
Total Competitiveness Objective
Total ERDF
Total ESF
Total NSRF
NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

108 385 242
25 575 633
16 869 009
419 093 449
268 263 565
150 829 884
26 302 604 484

19

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Contact point in 
the Czech Republic
Czech authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

Ministry for Regional Development
Section for European Aﬀ airs
Staroměstské nám. 6
CZ 110 15 Prague 1
Czech Republic
Tel:  +420 224 861 111  
Fax: +420 224 861 333 

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
http://www.strukturalni-fondy.cz
> 

20

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Denmark

Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007-13

Strategic objectives

As  laid  down  in  the  Danish  National 
Strategic 
Framework 
Reference 
(NSRF), the EU funding will be invested 
in four strategic growth drivers:
• 

  -  this  growth 
Human  resources
driver is focused on developing the 
country’s  human  resources,  thus 
giving Danish enterprises access to 
more and better qualiﬁ ed workers. 
Actions  will  aim  at  a)  upgrading 
the qualiﬁ cations of the workforce 
and  developing  managerial  skills, 
directly through training, and indi-
rectly through reinforcing innova-
tion in enterprises and promoting 
better  use  of  new  technologies, 
and b) increasing employment and 
self-employment,  by  enhancing 
skills,  supporting  entrepreneur-
ship,  encouraging  people  to  stay 
longer  on  the  job  market  (active 
ageing)  and  promoting  ﬂ exible 
forms of working. 
 - the primary target is to 
Innovation
create framework conditions for mar-
ket-based  sustainable 
innovation. 
Actions  can  include  reinforcing  the 
collaboration  between  enterprises 
and  knowledge  institutions,  build-
ing  cluster-based  competency  and 
strengthening the capacity of enter-
prises to exploit new knowledge. 
 - the main 
Use of new technology
aims are to improve the use of, trans-
fer of, access to and exchange of new 
technology,  create  the  Information 
and  Communication  Technology 
(ICT)  infrastructure  needed,  digital-
ise the services oﬀ ered by the public 
sector  to  people  and  businesses, 
and increase the use of ICT in educa-
tional institutions and businesses to 
make them more competitive.
  -  the  aim  is  to 
Entrepreneurship
create more businesses and make 
them sustainable in order to create 
more  high-quality  jobs.  The  strat-
egy  for  reaching  this  is  to  assist 
businesses  through,  for  example, 
specialist advice, access to capital, 
creation  of  networks  or  develop-
ment of entrepreneurial skills.

• 

• 

• 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Regions to receive investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Denmark  has 
been allocated an amount in the region 
of €613 million, €510 million under the 
Regional Competitiveness and Employ-
ment objective and €103 million under 
the  European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.  Denmark’s  contribution  to 
complement the EU investment should 
reach  another  €613  million,  bringing 
the total amount available for the struc-
tural fund activities in Denmark to some 
€1 226 billion over the 7-year period.

Competitiveness 

All  of  Denmark  is  eligible  for  the 
Regional 
and 
Employment  objective.  During  the 
period 2000-06, the entire country was 
eligible  under  the  Danish  Objective 
3  and  EQUAL  programmes,  whereas 
the Danish Objective 2 covered only 
10.2% of the population and 7.7% of 
the population under Phasing-out.

21

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Denmark in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Total

Regional Competitiveness and Employment

Innovation and Knowledge (ERDF)

More and Better Jobs (ESF)

Community 
Contribution

254 788 620

254 788 619

Total all funds NSRF 2007-13

509 577 239

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

To  measure  the  impact  of  invest-
ments, Denmark has set several target 
indicators:  by  2013  the  employment 
rate  should  be  72.7%  (compared  to 
72.6%  in  2005);  30%  of  people  aged 
25-64  will  have  taken  part  in  training 
activities  within  4  weeks  prior  to  the 
date  of  registration  (approximately 
27% 
in  2005);  45%  of  unskilled 
workers  aged  25-64  will  have  taken 
part  in  training  activities  within  one 
year  prior  to  the  date  of  registra-
tion  (approximately  41%  in  2005). 
Furthermore,  at  least  half  of  Danish 
enterprises are expected to be inno-
vative (an increase of 10% compared 
to  2000)  and  Denmark  should  be 
among  the  5  most  innovative  coun-
tries in the EU (compared to 9th place 
now).  The  penetration  rate  of  ICT  in 
Danish companies will have to be at 
least 75% (56% in 2005).

An investment for growth and jobs

Denmark’s NSRF includes a signiﬁ cant 
commitment  to  the  Lisbon  Strategy 
for jobs and growth, as it is allocating 
a  substantial  share  (92%)  of  invest-
ment directly to relevant Lisbon Strat-
egy actions.

Operational programmes

Denmark has translated the broad pri-
orities contained in the NSRF into two 
operational programmes: Innovation 
and  Knowledge,  which  will  receive 
some €255 million from the European 
Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF), 
and More and Better Jobs, which will 
also receive about €255 million from 
the European Social Fund (ESF).

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Information society 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

4.8%

13.0%

73.6%

3.8%

4.8%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  20.8%

Improving human capital 

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Technical assistance 

19.2%

56.2%

3.8%

The ERDF will also contribute towards 
ﬁ nancing of the European Territorial 
Cooperation  objective  consisting  of 
three strands: cross-border, transna-
tional  and  interregional.  Under  the 
European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective, Denmark will take part in 
the following programmes:
• 

Four  cross-border  cooperation 
Germany 
programmes  with 
(two 
Sweden 
programmes), 
(two  programmes),  Norway  (one 

• 

• 

(one 

programme)  and  Poland 
programme).
Transnational 
cooperation 
between EU Member States in the 
Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
Interregional  cooperation  in  the 
European  Union  among  all  Mem-
ber States.

A  total  of  €103  million  has  been 
allocated  to  Denmark  under  this 
objective.

Contact point in Denmark
Danish authority with overall 
responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

Danish Enterprise and Construction 
Authority 
- under the Ministry for Economic and 
Business Aﬀ airs
Vejlsøvej 29
DK-8600 Silkeborg
Denmark
Tel:  +45 35 46 60 00 
Fax: +45 32 46 64 01
www.deaca.dk
> 

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.ebst.dk/ﬁ le/5468/
Strategisk_referenceramme.pdf

22

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Germany

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

will  be  living  in  Convergence  regions 
(including 5.02 million or 6.1% in “Sta-
tistical  Phasing-out”  areas).  Between 
2000  and  2006,  there  were  13.57  mil-
lion  people  (16.4%)  living  in  regions 
supported under “Objective 1”.

Strategic objectives

As laid down in the German National 
Strategic 
Framework 
Reference 
(NSRF),  the  EU  funding  will  be 
invested in four strategic objectives:
Innovation  and  development  of 
• 
the  knowledge-based  society  as 
well as strengthening the competi-
tiveness of the economy.
Increasing  the  attractiveness  of 
regions  for  investors  and  citizens 
through 
regional 
sustainable 
development.
More and better jobs.
Developing  regions  to  promote 
reduce  dif-
opportunities  and 
ferences 
priority/
objective).

(Territorial 

• 
• 

• 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Regions to receive investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Germany 
has  been  allocated  approximately 
€26.3  billion,  €16.1  billion  under  the 
Convergence  objective,  €9.4  billion 
under  the  Regional  Competitiveness 
and  Employment  objective  and  €0.8 
billion under the European Territorial 
Cooperation objective. 

Brandenburg-Nordost,  Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern,  Chemnitz,  Dresden, 
Dessau,  Magdeburg  and  Thüringen 
fall  under  the  Convergence  objective, 
while  Brandenburg-Südwest,  Lüneb-
urg, Leipzig and Halle are deemed “Sta-
tistical  Phasing-out”  regions.  All  other 
regions fall under the Competitiveness 
and Employment objective. In Germany 
between 2007 and 2013, 15.26 million 
people (18.5% of the total population) 

23

In  addition  to  the  strategic  objec-
tives,  there  are  also  three  horizontal 
objectives: 
• 
• 
• 

Sustainable urban development 
Equal opportunities 
Environment.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

To  achieve  the  strategic  objectives 
mentioned  above,  Germany  has 
established separate thematic priori-
ties  for  Eastern  and Western  regions 
in Germany. To measure the impact of 
the  investment,  the  German  Länder 
will  set  target  indicators  for  their 
operational  programmes.  The  GDP 
(Gross  Domestic  Product)  per  capita 
in  the  Convergence  regions  should 
increase to above 75% of the EU aver-
age.  Across  Germany  the  Structural 
Funds  are  expected  to  contribute  to 
implementing the Lisbon agenda for 
jobs and growth, notably:
• 

Gross  domestic  expenditure  on 
R&D (Research and Development) 

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• 

should  increase  to  3.0%,  in  com-
parison to 2.5% in 2003;
The  employment 
rate  should 
increase to 70%, in comparison to 
65.4% in 2005.

An investment for growth and jobs

The NSRF strategy will strongly support 
the  Lisbon  Agenda,  with  81%  of  the 
funds in the Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment objective and 71% of 
the funds in the Convergence objective 
allocated to related activities.

Operational programmes

Germany  has  translated  the  broad 
priorities  contained  in  the  NSRF  into 
36 operational programmes: 

Fund 

ERDF  –  European  Regional  Devel-
opment 
(18  operational 
programmes):
• 

17  operational  programmes  (one 
for each Bundesland + Lüneburg) 
1  operational  programme  - Trans-
port for Convergence objective

• 

ESF – European Social Fund (18 oper-
ational programmes): 
• 

17  operational  programmes  (one 
for each Bundesland + Lüneburg) 
1 operational multi-objective pro-
gramme  for  Convergence  objec-
tive  and  Convergence  and  Com-
petitiveness objective.

• 

The  NSRF  does  not  cover  the  opera-
tional  programmes  within 
the 
European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Germany in its draft operational programmes

Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment

Community Contribution

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Operational Programme
Convergence 

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

Brandenburg
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Niedersachsen-Region Lueneburg 
Sachsen 
Sachsen-Anhalt
Thueringen
Bund
Thueringen 
Brandenburg 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 
Sachsen 
Verkehr EFRE Bund 
Niedersachsen-Region Lueneburg 
Sachsen-Anhalt 
Total

ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

620 249 615
417 473 463
210 010 942
871 859 914
643 930 752
629 009 103
1 325 569 051
1 477 687 909
1 498 732 588
1 252 420 390
3 091 139 706
1 520 319 639
589 000 000
1 931 792 253
11 361 092485

Tourism 

Baden-Wuerttemberg 
Bayern
Berlin 
Bremen 
Hamburg 
Hessen
Niedersachsen (ohne R. Lueneburg)
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Rheinland-Pfalz
Saarland 
Schleswig-Holstein
Bund 
Bayern 
Saarland 
Schleswig-Holstein 
Berlin 
Hessen 
Bremen 
Nordrhein-Westfalen 
Baden-Wuerttemberg
Hamburg
Niedersachsen (ohne R. Lueneburg)
Rheinland-Pfalz 
Total
Total
Total NSRF
NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

265 998 586
310 059 703
335 976 031
89 054 742
91 152 890
186 735 204
237 090 765
683 996 369
113 766 267
86 490 338
100 011 739
2 162 219 289
575 934 188
197 512 437
373 888 769
875 589 810
263 454 159
142 006 631
1 283 430 816
143 400 068
35 268 791
638 769 613
217 613 760
4 746 869 042
4 662 551 923
9 409 420 965

ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ESF
All funds

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

1.6%

3.0%

9.1%

1.8%

0.3%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  28.6%

Improving human capital 

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  20.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Technical assistance 

1.8%

2.1%

3.3%

0.0%

46.9%

0.1%

2.1%

2.2%

19.6%

6.1%

30.9%

16.4%

0.1%

3.9%

24

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Contact point in Germany
German authority (federal level) with overall 
responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13:

The Federal Ministry of Economics and 
Technology
Referat E A 4 “Koordinierung EU-Kohäsions- und 
Strukturpolitik, 
Transeuropäische Netze”
Scharnhorststr. 34-37
D-10115 Berlin
Germany
Tel:  +49 (0) 30 18 615 0 
Tel:  +49 (0) 30 18 615 7010

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Europa/
eu-strukturpolitik.html

25

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Estonia

Convergence Objectives 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Estonia  has 
been  allocated  some  €3.4  billion  in 
total. The breakdown of the total Com-
munity assistance among the funds is 
as follows: €1.86 billion for the Euro-
pean  Regional  Development  Fund 
(ERDF), €391 million for the European 
Social Fund (ESF), and €1.15 billion for 
the Cohesion Fund (CF).

Regions to receive investment

Thematic
• 
• 

Educated and active people
research  and 
the 
Increase  of 
development capability and inno-
vative  spirit  and  productivity  of 
enterprises
Better connection opportunities
Reduction of environmental load
Integral  and  balanced  develop-
ment of regions 

• 
• 
• 

Horizontal
• 

Higher administrative capacity

The  entire  country  is  eligible  under 
the Convergence objective. 

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Strategic objectives

The strategic focus of NSRF interven-
tions is on the following ﬁ ve thematic 
priorities and one horizontal priority:

Cohesion policy has and will play a 
significant role in Estonia’s develop-
ment. The indicators mentioned and 
quantified  at  NSRF  level,  include 
competitiveness indicators such as: 
raising the employment rate of the 

26

active population from 64% to 72% 
by the end of the period; raising the 
productivity of companies by almost 
a  third  (from  58%  to  80%);  increas-
ing Research & Development (R&D) 
investment in companies to 1.6% of 
GDP; and increasing the number of 
scientists in Estonia.

The  NSRF  also  supports  activities 
concerning  social  cohesion.  The 
objectives  in  this  field  are  of  major 
importance,  e.g.  lowering  the  pov-
erty risk rate from 19% to 15%, and 
lowering the differences in employ-
ment  rates  between  the  counties. 
This  also 
includes  the  objective 
of  lowering  the  GDP  differences 
between  regions  within  Estonia 
from  the  current  rate  of  3.6  times 
to  not  more  than  3.5,  i.e.  ensuring 
that the gap widens no further and 
even succeeding in the difficult task 
of  reducing  internal  regional  dis-
parities. The objectives also include 
reducing  the  wage  gap  between 
men  and  women  to  20%  (from 
24.5%) by 2010.

A more sustainable use of the envi-
ronment is a key objective for Esto-
nia  and  the  NSRF  is  designed  to 
result  in  vast  improvements,  such 
as 100% clean water and a massive 
increase in the solid waste recycling 
rate  (from  36.7%  to  60%).  The  per-
centage  of  public  transport  users 
among  working  people  should 
remain  stable  even  though  the 
number of car users have increased 
and  will  continue  to  increase  over 
the period 2007-13.

An investment for growth and jobs

Estonia’s  NSRF  is  strongly  geared 
towards  creating  growth  and  jobs 
and  improving  the  basic  conditions 
for  economic  development  (trans-
infrastructure,  environmental 
port 
inno-
infrastructure,  training  and 
vation).  The  share  of 
investment 
directly  earmarked  for  the  Lisbon 
Strategy is 47%.

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Operational programmes

Estonia’s  strategic  planning  for  the 
2007-13 period will be implemented 
through 
three  operational  pro-
grammes: two ERDF programmes on 
economic  and  living  environments, 
and  one  ESF  programme  on  human 
resources.  The  priorities  of  the  OPs 
are as follows:
• 

Human Resource Development

– 
– 

– 

– 

Priority axis 1: Life-long learning.
Priority axis 2: Developing human 
resources for R&D.
Priority  axis  3:  Good  quality  and 
long work life.
Priority axis 4: Knowledge and skills 
for innovative entrepreneurship.

– 

Priority axis 5: Enhancing admin-
istrative capacity.

• 

Development  of  the  Economic 
Environment 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

through 

Priority  axis  1:  Innovation  and 
growth capacity of enterprises.
Priority  axis  2:  Improving  the 
competitiveness  of  Estonian 
R&D 
research  pro-
grammes  and  modernisation 
of  higher  education  and  R&D 
institutions.
Priority  axis  3:  Transport  invest-
ments of strategic importance.
Priority  axis  4:  Development  of 
regional transport infrastructure.
Priority  axis  5:  Development  of 
the information society.

• 

Development  of 
Environment

the  Living 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Priority  axis  1:  Development  of 
water  and  waste  management 
infrastructure.
Priority  axis  2:  Development  of 
infrastructures  and  support  sys-
tems  for  sustainable  use  of  the 
environment.
Priority  axis  3:  Development  of 
the energy sector.
Priority  axis  4:  Integral  and  bal-
anced development of regions.
Priority  axis  5:  Development  of 
education infrastructure.
Priority  axis  6:  Development  of 
the health care and social welfare 
infrastructures.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Estonia in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Operational programme for the 
Development of the Living Environment

Operational programme  for the 
Development of the Economic 
Environment

Operational Programme for Human 
Resource Development

ERDF+CF
ERDF
CF
ERDF+CF
ERDF
CF

1 607 314 506
980 980 350
626 334 156
1 404 628 046
879 230 756
525 397 290

ESF

391 517 329

Total ERDF

Total CF

Total ESF

Total all Funds

1 860 211 106

1 151 731 446

391 517 329

3 403 459 881

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund  2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

2.3%

2.4%

25.1%

2.5%

17.2%

21.8%

2.0%

3.5%

22.7%

0.5%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  34.7%

Improving human capital 

40.8%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.8%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

16.4%

5.1%

2.1%

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

Contact point in Estonia
Estonian authority with overall responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia 
Suur-Ameerika 1 
EE-Tallinn 15006
Estonia

Contact person: 
Katri Seier 
Tel:  +372 6113511
Email: katri.seier@ﬁ n.ee

The full text of the NSRF and programmes are available at: 
> 

www.struktuurifondid.ee

27

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Ireland

Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment 

The  Fund  contribution  for  Ireland  is 
set at €750.72 million for the 2007-13 
period.  The  breakdown  among  the 
Funds  is  €375.36  million  from  the 
European  Regional  Development 
Fund (ERDF) and €375.36 million from 
the European Social Fund (ESF)

• 

Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment  objective:  Southern 
and  Eastern  region.  Funding  from 
the ERDF is set at €146.6 million.

In  addition,  a  Human  Capital  Invest-
ment  Operational  Programme  is  to 
receive funding from the ESF, as spec-
iﬁ ed above.

Regions to receive investment

Strategic objectives

• 

Phasing-in:  Border,  Midland  and 
Western region. The funding from the 
ERDF is set at €228.7 million (these 
areas are subject to special ﬁ nancial 
allocations due to their former status 
of “Objective 1” regions).

The  strategic  focus  of  National  Stra-
tegic  Reference  Framework  (NSRF) 
actions  is  on  the  following  themes 
and priorities:
• 

Promoting human capital invest-
ment by upskilling the workforce 

28

• 

• 

and  increasing  the  participation 
and setting up of groups outside 
the workforce - the authorities will 
focus on women, people with dis-
abilities,  single  parents,  travellers 
and  ex-oﬀ enders.  A  special  pro-
gramme will target migrants given 
their  signiﬁ cant  contribution  to 
the economy.
Supporting 
innovation,  knowl-
edge and entrepreneurship in the 
regions - the objective is to boost 
Research and Development (R&D) 
in areas and institutions (institutes 
of  technology  mainly)  where  this 
has  been  lacking  in  the  past.  The 
aim  is  to  double  the  number  of 
PhD graduates over the period. Ire-
land will also continue to develop 
foreign  direct  investment,  one  of 
the  competitive  characteristics  of 
the economy. 
Strengthening  the  competitive-
ness,  attractiveness  and  connec-
tivity of the National Spatial Strat-
egy  deﬁ ned  by  the  government 
- this will take place by improving 
access to quality infrastructure and 
promoting environmental and sus-
tainable  development.  Gateways 
and hubs will connect urban areas, 
and there will be a special focus on 
public  transport  and  innovative 
environmental solutions. 

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Cohesion  policy  has  played  a  sig-
niﬁ cant  role  in  the  development  and 
revival of Ireland’s economy. The Eco-
nomic and Social Research Institute has 
estimated that Structural Fund actions 
over  the  ﬁ rst  two  programming  peri-
ods combined (1989-93 and 1994-99) 
will  lead  to  a  permanent  increase  in 
GNP of 2%.  They have also estimated 
that funding for the ﬁ rst three years of 
the 2000-06 period will add a further 
0.7%  to  GNP. The  funding  for  Ireland 
in 2007-13 has decreased signiﬁ cantly 
as  a  result  of  the  country’s  economic 
development.  The  expected  macro-
economic  impact  of  the  new  pro-

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Ireland in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment
Southern & Eastern Regional
Border Midlands & Western Regional
Total ERDF
Human Capital Investment
Total all Funds - NSRF 2007-13
Total ERDF
Total ESF

Fund

Total

Community Contribution

ERDF
ERDF

ESF

146 603 534
228 758 838
375 362 372
375 362 370
750 724 742
375 362 372
375 362 370

The Irish authorities have set up the following outputs and 
results indicators for the period 2007-13 (a selection from the 
programmes):
Border, Midland and Western Region
Number of training days provided to micro-enterprises
Number of micro-enterprises supported
Number of researchers engaged in the approved 
projects
Number of recipients of training
Number of jobs created in assisted micro-enterprises
Number of energy schemes introduced
Population equivalent served by innovative sewage 
treatment schemes
Number of Sustainable Development Zones
Southern and Eastern region
Number of Enterprises in Incubation Centres
Number of training days provided to SMEs
Number of enterprises supported
Number of additional researchers employed in the 
region’s HEIs
No. of recipients of training 
Population equivalent served by innovative sewage 
treatment schemes
Additional businesses with broadband available
Number of integrated growth centre strategies 
approved
Number of public transport projects supported
Increased public transport usage in Gateways
Number of jobs created (estimate from baseline)

119 570
5 011

100

61 550
20 880
8

2 800

4

16
249 290
8 030

560

141 160

4 200

23 125

10

5
20%
7 500 

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

10.1%

6.5%

9.6%

41.7%

2.4%

7.0%

22.6%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

6.3%

Improving human capital 

56.6%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  28.6%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Technical assistance 

7.6%

0.8%

grammes will therefore be signiﬁ cantly 
lower. In view of this, the Irish authori-
ties have opted for a “niche approach”. 
The ERDF actions will therefore target 
niche  areas  that  generate  high  levels 
of  EU  added  value  e.g.  supporting 
the Research and Development (R&D) 
work of institutes of technology in the 
Border  Midland  and  Western  region, 
environmental ﬂ agship projects, small 
business  development  schemes  and 
speciﬁ c public transport projects.

Contact points in Ireland
Irish authorities with overall responsibility 
for Cohesion policy 2007-13:

BMW Programme
Border, Midland and Western Regional 
Assembly 
The Square, Ballaghaderreen
Co. Roscommon

S&E Programme
Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly
Assembly House
O’Connell Street
Waterford

The full text of the NSRF and programmes 
are available at: 
> 

www.ndp.ie/docs/NDP_
Homepage/1131.htm

• 

• 

29

An investment for growth and jobs

Ireland’s  NSRF  is  almost  exclusively 
geared  towards  the  Lisbon  Strategy 
for jobs and growth. Indeed, the share 
of investment earmarked for the Lis-
bon Strategy is close to 85%.

Operational programmes

Ireland’s  strategic  planning  for  the 
2007-13 period will be implemented 
through 
three  operational  pro-
grammes  (OPs):  two  regional  pro-
grammes  and  one  human  resources 
sectoral  programme.  The  three  OPs 
and their priorities are as follows:
• 

The  Border,  Midland  and  Western 
Region OP: innovation and knowl-
edge  economy,  environment  and 
risk  prevention,  access  to  trans-
port and telecommunications, and 
urban development.
The  Southern  &  Eastern  Regional 
OP: 
innovation  and  knowledge 
economy, environment and acces-
sibility, sustainable urban develop-
ment and technical assistance.
The Human Capital Investment OP: 
increased skill levels and enhanced 
workforce productivity, the set up 
and  participation  of  groups  out-
side the workforce.

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Greece

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

Strategic objectives

As  laid  down  in  the  Greek  National 
Framework 
Strategic 
Reference 
funding  will  be 
(NSRF),  the  EU 
invested  in  ﬁ ve  thematic  priorities, 
under  which  there  are  17  general 
objectives:
• 

Investment in the productive sec-
tor of the economy

• 

• 

– 

– 

– 

Increase  extroversion  and  direct 
foreign investment inﬂ ow.
Develop  entrepreneurship  and 
increase productivity.
Diﬀ erentiate  tourist  products  of 
the country.
Knowledge 
Innovation

Society 

and 

– 

– 

– 

Improve  the  quality  and  vol-
ume  of  investments  in  human 
resources  to  upgrade  the  Greek 
education system.
Reinforce  research  and  technol-
ogy  and  promote 
innovation 
in  all  sectors  as  a  key  factor  for 
restructuring the Greek economy 
and  transition  to  the  knowledge 
economy.
Achieve  digital 
convergence 
through  the  incorporation  and 
systematic  use  of 
Information 
and  Communication  Technolo-
gies (ICT).

– 

– 
– 
– 

– 

Employment and social cohesion
the  adaptability  of 

Reinforce 
workers and enterprises.
Enhance access to employment.
Promote social inclusion.
Establish  an  eﬃ  cient  and  eco-
nomically viable system of health 
and social care.
Develop the economic, social and 
development  aspects  of  gender 
equality  issues,  by  linking  them 
directly  with  national  political 
priorities (growth – employment 
- social cohesion).

• 

Institutional environment

– 

Improve  national  policies  and 
ensure  eﬀ ective 
implementa-
tion  to  facilitate  entrepreneurial 
action and improve citizens’ qual-
ity of life.

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Greece  has 
been allocated €20.420 billion in total, 
€19.575 billion under the Convergence 
objective,  €635  million  under  the 
Regional Competitiveness and Employ-
ment objective, and €210 million under 
the  European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.  Greece’s  contribution  to 
complement the EU investment under 
the National Strategic Reference Frame-
work should amount to at least €6.169 
billion at current prices.

Regions to receive investment

Investments  will  be  made  in  the  fol-
lowing regions:

• 

• 

• 

Convergence  objective:  Anatoliki 
Makedonia, Thraki, Thessalia,  Ipei-
ros, Ionia Nisia, Dytiki Ellada, Pelo-
ponnisos, Voreio Aigaio, Kriti.
Statistical  phasing-out:  Kentriki 
Makedonia,  Dytiki  Makedonia, 
Attiki.
Phasing-in:  Sterea  Ellada,  Notio 
Aigaio.

During  the  2007-13  period,  10.16 
million  people  (92.2%  of  the  total) 
will  live 
in  Convergence  regions, 
including  6.13  million  in  Statistical 
Phasing-out  areas.  Between  2000 
and  2006,  100%  of  the  popula-
tion  lived  in  regions  falling  under 
Objective 1.

30

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• 

Attractiveness of Greece and the 
regions  as  places  to  invest,  work 
and live

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Develop and modernise physical 
infrastructures,  including  trans-
port services.
Secure  a  sustainable  supply  of 
the country’s energy.
Manage  the  environment  in  a 
sustainable way.
Implement  environmental  poli-
cies eﬀ ectively.
Promote  culture  as  a  vital  factor 
of economic growth.

In addition, Greece has identiﬁ ed three 
territorial priorities: sustainable urban 
growth; development of the country-
side;  and  cross-border,  transnational 
and interregional cooperation.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

A  preliminary  evaluation  indicates 
that  implementation  of  the  Greek 
NSRF could lead to an increase in real 
GDP of almost 3.5% and create up to 
95 000 new jobs by 2015. In respect 
of  human  capital  investment,  the 
NSRF is expected to contribute €3.3 
billion,  while  research  and  develop-
ment (R&D) looks set to beneﬁ t from 
€1  billion. The  share  of  R&D  in  GDP 
is  presently  extremely  low,  close  to 
0.6%.  Greece  aims  to  increase  this 
ﬁ gure to 1.5% of GDP by the end of 
the programming period.

An investment for growth and jobs

Greece’s NSRF is increasing the share 
of 
investment  earmarked  for  the 
Lisbon  Strategy  for  jobs  and  growth 
(61.9%  under  Convergence  and  67% 
under  Regional  Competitiveness 
and  Employment)  in  comparison  to 
the  2000-06  programming  period 
(<55%).

Operational programmes

Greece’s  strategic  planning  for  the 
2007-13  period  will  be  implemented 
through  eight  sectoral  and  ﬁ ve 
regional  operational  programmes 
(OPs).  One  other  operational  pro-
gramme  relates  to  Greece’s  decision 
to reserve an amount of the Structural 

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Greece in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Convergence 

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

ERDF & CF

Competitiveness & Entrepreneurship

Digital Convergence

Technical Assistance

Improvement of Accessibility

Environment Sustainable Development

Αttiki 

Dytiki Ellada – Peloponissos Ιonia Nisia

Μakedonia – Thraki

Thessalia – Sterea Ellada - Ipeiros

Κriti & Νisia Αιgaiou

ESF

National contingency reserve

Human resources development

Education & Life-long learning

Improvement of Public 
Administration Eﬃ  ciency

Total  ΕRDF

Total CF

Total ΕSF

Funds total 2007– 13

Regional Competitiveness and 
Employment

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

CF

ERDF

CF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ESF

ESF

ESF

ESF

1 291 000 000

860 000 000

192 000 000

1 583 000 000

2 117 160 864

220 000 000

1 580 000 000

2 438 000 000

914 000 000

2 675 000 000

738 000 000

731 000 000

158 800 403

2 191 205 707

1 396 166 468

489 627 824

11 642 000 000

3 697 160 864

4 235 800 402

19 574 961 266

Community Contribution

ERDF

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ESF

ESF

ESF

Thessalia – Sterea Ellada - Ipeiros

Κriti & Νisia Αιgaiou

Human resources development

Education & Life-long learning

Improvement of Public 
Administration Eﬃ  ciency

Total ERDF

Total ESF

Funds total 2007– 13

367 000 000

140 300 178

68 794 293

43 833 532

15 372 176

507 300 178

128 000 001

635 300 179

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

3.1%

3.9%

22.3%

0.6%

9.8%

8.9%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

0.0%

Reduction of additional costs hindering the outermost 
regions development 

0.0%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

11.8%

0.1%

2.6%

1.1%

32.7%

3.0%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  34.7%

Improving human capital 

37.1%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  9.1%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

13.5%

1.2%

0.4%

2.1%

1.9%

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial cooperation objective

31

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Fund contribution to the Convergence 
objective  for  a  national  contingency 
reserve. Finally, under the European Ter-
ritorial  Cooperation  objective,  Greece 
will also participate in twelve territorial 
cooperation  OPs. The  initial  indicative 
estimated breakdown among the Funds 
of the total Community assistance avail-
able  will  be  €12 149  billion  from  the 
European Regional Development Fund 
(ERDF), €4 364 billion from the European 
Social Fund (ESF) and €3 697 billion from 
the Cohesion Fund (CF).

Operational  programmes  covering 
more  than  one  of  the  three  objec-
tives are not permitted except where 

otherwise agreed by the Commission 
and  the  Member  State.  In  the  list  of 
operational  programmes,  Greece 
submitted ﬁ ve multi-objective opera-
tional programmes which are justiﬁ ed 
by the nature of the investments con-
cerned  and  the  need  to  strengthen 

coordination  and  programming  in 
the  regional  territorial  units  for  the 
2007-13 period. The following opera-
tional programmes cover the Conver-
gence and Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment objectives:

Name of the programme

Human resources development
Εducation and Life-long learning
Reinforcement of Public Administration 
Eﬃ  ciency
Thessalia  - Sterea Ellada – Ipeiros
Kriti & Νisia Aigaiou

Global amount under the 
“Convergence” objective

2 191 205 707
1 396 166 468

489 627 824

738 000 000
731 000 000

Global amount under the “Regional 
competitiveness and employment” 
objective
68 794 293
43 833 532

15 372 176

367 000 000
140 300 178

Contact point in Greece
Greek authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

Ministry of Economy and Finance, General 
Secretariat for Investments and Development
Nikis 5-7, Athens 101 80, Greece 
Tel:  +30 210 3332402  
Fax: +30 210 3332449
> 

www.hellaskps.gr/programper4/default.htm

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.hellaskps.gr/programper4/ﬁ les/NSRF_
VERSION_GR_SFC_260107.pdf

32

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Spain

Convergence and Competitiveness objectives 2007-13

Strategic objectives

As laid down in the Spanish National 
Framework 
Reference 
Strategic 
(NSRF),  the  EU  funding  will  target 
three strategic objectives:
• 

Making  Spain  a  more  attractive 
place to invest and work in
Improving knowledge and innova-
tion to boost growth
More and better jobs.

• 

• 

The  Spanish  NSRF  is  designed  to 
translate  these  priority  objectives 
into  themes  aimed  at  boosting  the 
knowledge  economy,  fostering  sus-
tainable  environment  and  transport, 
advancing  local  and  urban  develop-
ment,  encouraging  lifelong  learning 
and  business  creation, 
improving 
human  capital,  promoting  access 
to  employment,  social 
inclusion 
and  equal  opportunities,  enhanc-
ing  public-private  partnership  and 
encouraging  both  strategic  reﬂ exion 
and acquisition of skills by experience 
exchange  in  newly-created  thematic 
networks.

The expected impact of 
the new Cohesion Policy

To measure the impact of the invest-
ment,  Spain  has  set  the  following 
target  indicators  for  2013:  a  rate  of 
employment  of  70%  (57%  female); 
research  and  development 
(R+D) 
expenditure of 2% of GDP (55% from 
the  private  sector);  Internet  use  of 
99% in small and medium sized enter-
prises  (SMEs),  65%  in  households;  a 
reduced  rate  (15%)  of  pupils  leaving 
school early; and reduced CO2 emis-
sions of up to 24% of 1990 levels. Indi-
cators speciﬁ cally targeting the Con-
vergence  regions  include:  extending 
railway density up to 35 km/1 000 km2 
and retaining the current percentage 
of  people  living  in  localities  of  less 
than 10 000 inhabitants. These objec-
tives are in line with those identiﬁ ed 
in  the  National  Reform  Programme 
for Spain.

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Spain  has 
been allocated €35.217 billion in total: 
€26.180  billion  under  the  Conver-
gence  objective  (€3.543  billion  from 
the  Cohesion  Fund),  €8.477  billion 
under  the  Regional  Competitiveness 
and Employment objective and €559 
million under the European Territorial 
Cooperation objective.

Regions to receive investment

Andalucía, 
Castilla-La  Mancha, 
Extremadura  and  Galicia  fall  under 
the  Convergence  objective,  while 
Asturias,  Ceuta,  Melilla  and  Murcia 
come  under  Statistical  Phasing-out 
regions.  Aragón,  Baleares,  Cantabria, 

Cataluña, Madrid, Navarra, País Vasco 
and  La  Rioja  fall  under  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective,  with  Canarias,  Castilla  y 
León  and  Comunidad  Valenciana 
being  Statistical  Phasing-in  regions. 
Apart  from  the  regions  covered  by 
transitional  sub-objectives  (Phasing-
out  and  Phasing-in),  only  Cantabria 
saw  a  change  between  the  2000-06 
and  2007-13  periods  (moving  from 
Objective  1  Phasing-out  for  2000-06 
to  the  full  Regional  Competitive-
ness  and  Employment  objective  for 
2007-13).  From  2007  to  2013,  16.3 
million  people  will  be  living  in  Con-
vergence  regions  (37%  of  the  total, 
compared to 59% in 2000-06).

33

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NSRF Financial Table

Operational Programme
Convergence

Total

Operational Programme
 Regional Competitiveness and Employment

Total

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Spain 
in its draft operational programmes

Cohesion Fund
National OP Cohesion Fund - ERDF
National OP Cohesion Fund - ERDF (CF)
National OP Cohesion Fund - ERDF (ERDF)
European Regional Development Fund
REGIONAL Operational Programmes
ERDF Convergence
ANDALUCIA
CASTILLA - LA MANCHA
EXTREMADURA
GALICIA
ERDF Phasing-out
ASTURIAS
MURCIA
CEUTA
CEUTA (54ter)
MELILLA
MELILLA (54ter)
ERDF MULTI-REGIONAL OPs
Multi-regional OP ERDF R+D+i for and by enterprises
Convergence
Phasing-out
Multi-regional OP ERDF Knowledge-based economy
Convergence
Phasing-out
Multi-regional OP ERDF Technical Assistance
Convergence
Phasing-out

European Social Fund
REGIONAL Operational Programmes
ESF Convergence
ANDALUCÍA
CASTILLA LA MANCHA
 EXTREMADURA
GALICIA
ESF Phasing-out
ASTURIAS
MURCIA
CEUTA
MELILLA
ESF MULTI-REGIONAL OPs
Multi-regional OP ESF Adaptability and Employment
Convergence
Phasing-out
Multi-regional OP ESF Fight against discrimination
Convergence
Phasing-out
Multi-regional OP ESF Technical Assistance
Convergence
Phasing-out

Convergence total

Total Convergence
Cohesion Fund
Convergence total excluding Cohesion Fund
ERDF
Convergence
 Phasing-out
ESF
Convergence
Phasing-out

4 900 164 342
3 543 213 008
1 356 951 334

6 843 929 341
1 439 393 894
1 580 187 909
2 191 544 341

395 215 192
523 859 034
17 712 796
27 559 814
16 228 681
27 559 813

1 686 342 363
1 573 919 540
112 422 823
1 238 138 404
1 129 547 369
108 591 035
44 557 905
41 214 429
3 343 476

1 155 756 489
180 400 219
250 085 797
358 501 812

100 787 496
75 743 963
10 249 664
7 193 432

2 878 889 345
2 740 387 847
1 38 501 498
208 068 774
190 693 448
17 375 326
22 129 144
2 1011 727
1 117 417

26 180 199 964
3 543 213 008
22 636 986 956
17 389 180 821
16 156 688 157
1 232 492 664
5 247 806 135
4 896 837 339
350 968 796

European Regional Development Fund
REGIONAL Operational Programmes
ERDF Phasing-in
CASTILLA Y LEÓN
COM.VALENCIANA
CANARIAS
CANARIAS (54 bis)
RUP Canarias
ERDF Regional Competitiveness and Employment
CANTABRIA
ARAGÓN
BALEARES
CATALUÑA
MADRID
NAVARRA
PAÍS VASCO
LA RIOJA
ERDF MULTI-REGIONAL OPs
Multi-regional OP ERDF R+D+i for and by enterprises
Phasing-in
Regional Competitiveness and Employment
Multi-regional OP ERDF Knowledge-based economy
Phasing-in
Multi-regional OP ERDF Technical Assistance
Phasing-in
Regional Competitiveness and Employment

European Social Fund
REGIONAL Operational Programmes
ESF Phasing-in
CASTILLA Y LEÓN
COM.VALENCIANA
CANARIAS
ESF Regional Competitiveness and Employment
CANTABRIA
ARAGÓN
BALEARES
CATALUÑA
MADRID
NAVARRA
PAÍS VASCO
LA RIOJA
ESF MULTI-REGIONAL OPs
Multi-regional OP ESF Adaptability and Employment
Phasing-in
Regional Competitiveness and Employment
Multi-regional OP ESF Fight against discrimination
Phasing-in
Regional Competitiveness and Employment
Multi-regional OP ESF Technical Assistance
Phasing-in
Regional Competitiveness and Employment

818 194 437
1 326 340 547
417 182 272
112 422 816
489 692 672

89 030 873
163 101 304
107 196 565
679 074 228
336 953 127
47 108 905
240 582 157
32 622 095

562 114 121
337 268 472
224 845 649
227 054 517
227 054 517
19 340 693
8 284 667
11 056 026

125 276 907
198 374 973
117 291 876

12 684 118
74 523 363
38 732 058
284 711 549
256 903 019
19 214 969
61 104 788
13 933 419

1 422 525 230
691 291 998
731 233 232
172 810 109
80 867 748
91 942 361
11 436 309
5 535 298
5 901 011

Regional Competitiveness and Employment Total

Regional Competitiveness and Employment total
ERDF
Regional Competitiveness and Employment
Phasing-in
ESF
Regional Competitiveness and Employment
Phasing-in

8 477 534 017
5 668 011 330
1 931 570 929
3 736 440 401
2 809 522 687
1 590 883 887
1 218 638 800

34

t
European Regional Development 
R i
E
Fund 2007-13

l D

l

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Reduction of additional costs hindering the 
outermost regions’ development 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

1.3%

1.7%

23.6%

4.3%

3.2%

0.9%

30.1%

1.0%

1.8%

27.9%

4.1%

European Social Fund 2007-13
European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  50.8%

Improving human capital 

14.2%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  6.7%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

21.5%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

5.3%

0.1%

1.5%

Brochure_NSRF_v17.indd   34
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An investment for growth and jobs

In  comparison 
to  2000-06,  and 
despite a reduction of more than 40% 
in  EU  assistance,  the  Spanish  pro-
gramme  has  signiﬁ cantly  increased 
its  support  for  the  Lisbon  Strategy, 
notably  in  the  areas  of  research, 
innovation  and  information  society, 
with  the  total  allocation  doubling 
to  just  under  €8  billion.  In  addition, 
more  than  €8  billion  have  been  set 
aside for the development of human 
capital, which is expected to directly 
beneﬁ t  more  than  14  million  people 
by  way  of  training,  jobs  and  oppor-

tunities for creating new companies. 
These  eﬀ orts  are  particularly  impor-
tant 
in  full  Convergence  regions, 
where  Lisbon-related  expenditure 
has  increased  from  about  53%  to 
almost 70%. Similar eﬀ orts have been 
undertaken  in  full  Competitiveness 
and Employment regions, where this 
percentage has exceeded 80%.

Operational programmes

The  NSRF  will  be  implemented  in  45 
operational  programmes  under  both 
the  Convergence  and  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 

objectives.  Of  these,  23  will  receive 
funding  from  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund 
(including  one 
joint  operational  programme  with 
the  Cohesion  Fund),  with  22  receiv-
ing  funding  from  the  European  Social 
Fund.  Mention  should  be  made  of  a 
new Technology Fund which is associ-
ated  with  these  programmes  and  is 
devoted to research and innovation for 
and  by  enterprises,  nationwide  action 
targeting  integrated  urban  develop-
ment, initiatives leading to a better bal-
ance between professional and private 
life, and actions aimed at reducing the 
rate of pupils leaving school early.

Contact point in Spain
Spanish authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Dirección General de Fondos Comunitarios
Directorate General for Community Funds
- within the Ministry of Economy and Finance
Paseo de la Castellana, 162
Madrid, Spain
Tel:  + 34 91 583 74 00
Email: fondoscomunitarios@sgpg.meh.es,  
> 

www.dgfc.sgpg.meh.es

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.dgfc.sgpg.meh.es

35

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France

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

now  be  beneﬁ ciaries  of  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment, 
proof of the progress they have made.

Strategic objectives

Structural funds will be applied to the 
following  objectives,  as  provided  for 
in  the  National  Strategic  Reference 
Framework  (NSRF)  presented  by  the 
French authorities:
• 

Innovation  and  the  knowledge 
economy (notably to support small 
and medium-sized enterprises).
Training,  employment  for  priority 
groups, human resource manage-
ment and social inclusion.
Development  of  information  and 
communication technologies.
The  environment,  risk  avoidance 
and energy policy.
Sustainable development through-
out the territories.

• 

• 

• 

• 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

France  will  beneﬁ t  from  about  €14.3 
billion  of  structural  funds  for  the 
2007-13  period.  Of  this,  €3.2  billion 
will be for the Convergence objective, 
€10.3 billion for the Regional Compet-
itiveness and Employment objective, 
and  €860  million  for  the  European 
Territorial Cooperation objective.

Regions to receive investment

The four overseas departments (DOM: 
Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique and 
Reunion)  will  receive  support  under 
the Convergence objective. 

All regions of Metropolitan France will 
beneﬁ t  from  the  Regional  Competi-
tiveness and Employment objective.

As  was  the  case  during  the  2000-06 
period, overseas departments remain 
eligible  for  the  Convergence  objec-
tive,  however  for  the  ﬁ rst  time,  the 
entire  population  of  Metropolitan 
France  is  now  entitled  to  funding 
under  the  Regional  Competitiveness 
and  Employment  objective.  The  1.1 
million inhabitants of Corsica and the 
municipalities  of  Avesnes,  Douai  and 
Valenciennes in the Nord department, 
eligible  for  Phasing-out  Objective  1 
support between 2000 and 2006, will 

36

In addition, overseas regions will ben-
eﬁ t from improvements in accessibil-
ity and compensation for constraints 
speciﬁ c to these departments (a spe-
cial allocation of €0.5 billion will pro-
vide compensation for the surcharges 
these regions incur due to their geo-
graphical locations).

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

In  order  to  meet  these  objectives, 
the  NSRF  has  deﬁ ned  and  ranked 
a  number  of  priorities  by  decreas-
ing  order  of  importance  with  which 
the  ERDF  and  ESF  programmes 
must  comply.  National  authorities 
expect the regional partners to select 
projects based notably on knowledge 
policies, but also on the promotion of 
sustainable development.

Therefore, in keeping with the objec-
tive  set  by  the  European  Union 
to  spend  3%  of  European  GNP  on 
research,  the  NSRF  is  designed  to 
increase the share of private research 
(1.25% of GNP in 2006) and to move 
in 
towards  Community  standards 

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matters of technology and non-tech-
nology innovation.

Furthermore,  in  step  with  European 
trends, France will seek to reduce end 
energy intensity by 2% a year through 
2015  and  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas 
emissions by an average of 3% in order 
to reach factor 4 by 2050. 

It  should  also  be  pointed  out  that 
the  ERDF  operational  programmes 
are based on the concept of carbon 
neutrality  so  that  France  can  meet 
its  commitments  to  the  Kyoto  pro-
tocol. The “carbon  neutral”  principle 
advanced by France consists in ensur-
ing that investments in regional pro-
grammes do not result in an increase 
in greenhouse gas emissions.

An investment for growth and jobs

The national authorities are providing 
impetus to the NSRF strategy aim of 
creating  conditions  for  growth  and 
employment  through  their  commit-
ment to an overall expenditure level 
for structural funds linked directly to 
the Lisbon Strategy of 75% (of which at 
least 60% is for the ERDF) for Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
and 60% for Convergence.

Operational programmes 

The NSRF sets priorities for 36 opera-
tional  programmes  in  France.  Of 
these,  31  will  be  supported  by  the 
ERDF and 5 by the ESF:
• 

ERDF - 31 programmes:

– 

– 

– 

26  regional  programmes  (22  in 
Metropolitan  France  +  4  in  the 
DOM).
4  multi-region  programmes  (2 
mountain  range  programmes  - 
Massif  Central  and  Alps,  and  2 
river  basin  programmes  -  Rhone 
and Loire).
1 multi-objective national techni-
cal assistance programme which 
also includes the European Terri-
torial Cooperation objective.

• 

ESF - 5 programmes:

– 

– 

1  national  ESF  programme  for 
Metropolitan France .
4 regional programmes (1 in each 
DOM).

The  NSRF  does  not  cover  the  Euro-
pean  Territorial  Cooperation  objec-
tive  independently  of  the  national 
technical assistance programme.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by France 
in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Convergence Objective 

Community Contribution

Martinique

Guadeloupe

Guyane

Reunion

Guyana

Guadeloupe

Martinique

Reunion

Regional Competitiveness  
Employment

National programme l

Aquitaine

Centre

Alsace

Auvergne

Lower-Normandie

Burgundy

Britany

Champagne-Ardenne

Corsica

Franche-Comté

Upper -Normandie

Ile de France

Languedoc-Roussillon

Limousin

Lorraine

Pays de la Loire

Nord-Pas de Calais

Picardie

Poitou-Charentes

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Midi-Pyrénées

Rhône-Alps

Plurirégional Alps

Plurirégional Loire

Plurirégional Massif Central

Plurirégional Rhône

ESF

ESF

ESF

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

97 859 231

185 176 373

100 059 222

516 889 189

305 158 669

542 701 534

417 155 833

1 014 291 774

Community Contribution

t
European Regional Development 
R i
E
Fund 2007-13

l D

l

4 494 563 975

Culture 

Energy 

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

392 371 063

196 185 531

75 924 973

206 790 459

181 354 410

185 580 603

301 693 854

185 580 603

150 465 376

146 789 783

219 311 261

151 466 770

270 420 027

127 259 135

329 406 415

302 234 812

700 953 570

201 493 631

201 493 631

302 234 812

430 023 629

334 049 596

34 936 532

33 809 546

40 571 457

33 809 546

1.7%

6.9%

15.1%

0.4%

0.5%

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.1%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Reduction of additional costs hindering the 
outermost regions development 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

0.3%

7.7%

3.3%

0.0%

4.1%

36.9%

0.2%

3.1%

3.4%

11.5%

5.1%

European Social Fund 2007 13
European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  30.1%

Improving human capital 

12.2%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  34.4%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

17.6%

0.2%

2.0%

0.0%

0.1%

3.4%

Multi-objectives

Community Contribution

National programme 
Technical assistance 

Total

Total

ERDF

39 154 226

ERDF

8 054 673 061

ESF

5 394 547 990

Total NSRF 2007-13

All Funds 13 449 221 051

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European territorial Cooperation objective.

37

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Contact points in France
French authorities with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Délégation interministérielle à l’aménagement et 
à la compétitivité des territoires
Équipe politiques européennes
1, avenue Charles Floquet
75007 Paris
France
Tel:  +33 1 40 65 12 34
www.diact.gouv.fr
> 

Ministère de l’Outre-Mer
27, rue Oudinot
75007 Paris
France
Tel:  +33 1 53 69 20 00 
> 

www.outre-mer.gouv.fr

The NSRF document is available at:
www.diact.gouv.fr/datar_site/
> 
datar_framedef.nsf/webmaster/
europe_Actu22092005_vf?OpenDocument 

38

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Italy

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Italy is the third biggest beneﬁ ciary of 
the  EU  Cohesion  policy  after  Poland 
and  Spain.  The  country  will  beneﬁ t 
from €28.8 billion during the 2007-13 
programming period for the Conver-
gence, Regional Competitiveness and 
Employment and European Territorial 
Cooperation objectives.

Italy  will  add  some  €31.6  billion  of 
investments  to  the  European  fund-

ing. There will also be a further €64.4 
billion  worth  of  resources  allocated 
by  Italy  to  the  “nationally-ﬁ nanced” 
regional  development  policy:  as 
a  result,  the  resources  nationally 
available  for  reducing  development 
imbalances in Italian regions amount 
to €124.7 billion for the 2007-13 pro-
gramming period.

The  Italian  National  Strategic  Refer-
ence  Framework 
includes 
guidelines  for  the  country’s  com-

(NSRF) 

• 

• 

39

prehensive 
policy.

regional  development 

Regions to receive investment

The  Convergence  regions,  namely 
Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and 
Basilicata (the latter being a Phasing-
out  region),  are  the  main  beneﬁ ciar-
ies of the Cohesion policy allocations. 
The  Competitiveness  and  Employ-
ment  regions  vary,  stretching  from 
Northern regions with a much higher 
pro-capita GDP than the EU average, 
to  Southern  regions  that  no  longer 
fall  within  the  Convergence  objec-
tive  but  that  still  have  a  signiﬁ cantly 
smaller  pro-capita  GDP  than  the  EU 
average  (e.g.  Sardinia,  which  for  the 
2007-13  period  will  be  a  Phasing-
in  Competitiveness  region;  Molise, 
which  was  a  Phasing-out  Objective 
1  region  for  2000-06;  and  Abruzzo, 
which was an Objective 1 region until 
1996,  but  which  did  not  manage  to 
catch  up  completely  with  the  other 
more developed regions in Italy).

Strategic objectives

and 

Italy  aims  to  improve  productivity, 
competitiveness 
innovation 
throughout  the  country  via  a  sus-
framework. 
tainable  development 
The  main  focus  will  therefore  be  on 
promoting skills and providing public 
services to people and investors.

These  national  objectives  are  to  be 
achieved  through  four  macro-objec-
tives: developing knowledge circuits; 
improving  living  standards,  security 
and  social  inclusion;  fostering  clus-
ters,  services  and  competition;  inter-
nationalising  and  modernising  the 
economy.

These  macro-objectives  include  10 
cohesion priorities: 
• 

human  resources 
and enhancement.
research  and  innovation  promo-
tion for competitiveness.
sustainable  and  eﬃ  cient  use 

improvement 

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An investment for growth and jobs

Italy  has  earmarked  a  signiﬁ cant 
amount  of  resources  that  will  con-
tribute  directly  to  implementing  the 
renewed  Lisbon  agenda  for  growth 
and  jobs:  68%  of  the  total  resources 
available for the Convergence objec-
tive  and  80%  of  those  allocated  to 
the  Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment objective.

Operational programmes

The objectives of the NSRF are to be 
achieved  through  66  operational 
programmes  (OPs).  The  breakdown 
by objective is as follows:
• 

operational 

19 
programmes 
under  the  Convergence  objec-
tive  (10  Regionally-managed  OPs 
–  ROP;  7  Nationally-managed  OPs 
–  NOP;  two  National  Interregional 
Operational  Programmes  -  NIOP), 
including  the  Phasing-out  region 
Basilicata.
33 operational programmes under 
the  Regional  Competitiveness 
and  Employment  objective  (32 
Regionally-managed OPs and one 
Nationally-managed  OP),  includ-
ing the Phasing-in region Sardinia.
14 operational programmes under 
the  European  Territorial  Coopera-
tion objective.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

of  environmental  resources  for 
development.
social inclusion, services for quality 
of life and territorial attractiveness.
promotion  of  natural  and  cultural 
resources  to  enhance  attractive-
ness  and  development,  mainly  in 
relation to diversifying tourism and 
extending the tourist season.
transport networks and links, with 
particular emphasis on Trans-Euro-
pean Network corridors.
competitiveness  of  production 
systems and employment, notably 
to  provide  ﬁ nancial  engineering 
schemes  supporting  small  and 
medium-sized enterprises.
competitiveness  and  attractive-
ness of cities and urban areas.
internationalisation  and 
invest-
ments, consumption and resource 
attractiveness.
institutional  capac-
governance, 
ity  and  eﬀ ective  markets  and 
competition.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Italy  has  set  a  number  of  targets  for 
the end of the period and its strategy 
aim  is  to  achieve  an  average  yearly 
GDP  growth  rate  in  Convergence 
regions  of  between  2.4%  and  3.1% 
throughout the period. Furthermore, 
by June 2008, the impact of Cohesion 
policy  at  national  level  on  reducing 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  will  be 
quantiﬁ ed. Among the diﬀ erent spe-
ciﬁ c targets, it should be pointed out 
that the percentage of GDP invested 
in  Research  and  Development  will 
more than double and that there will 
be  an  increase  from  8%  to  40%  for 
urban waste subject to separate col-
lection in the Convergence regions.

Competitiveness 

A  minimum  portion  of  European 
Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF) 
resources  (set  at  8%  for  the  Con-
vergence  regions  and  12%  for  the 
and 
Regional 
Employment  regions)  is  speciﬁ cally 
allocated  to  investments  in  energy, 
namely in energy eﬃ  cient and renew-
able  energy  sources.  In  an  eﬀ ort  to 
promote  a  shift  towards  sustain-
able  transport,  Italy  will  set  aside  a 
minimum 70% of ERDF resources for 
investing  in  transport  networks  and 
sustainable transport modes (rail and 
waterways).

40

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Italy in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Convergence Objective

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

ROP Campania
ROP Calabria
ROP Sicilia
ROP Basilicata 
ROP Puglia
NOP Governance 
NOP Education
NIOP Cultural and Natural attractors 
and Tourism
NIOP Renewable Energy and Energy saving
NOP Governance and Technical assistance
NOP Education
NOP Networks and Mobility
NOP Research and Competitiveness
NOP Security
ROP Calabria
ROP Campania
ROP Puglia
ROP Sicilia
ROP Basilicata 
Total 
Total 
Total 

Regional Competitiveness 

ROP Abruzzo
ROP Emilia Romagna
ROP Friuli-Venezia Giulia
ROP Lazio
ROP Liguria
ROP Lombardia
ROP Marche
ROP Molise
ROP P.A. Bolzano
ROP P.A. Trento
ROP Piemonte
ROP Toscana
ROP Umbria
ROP Valle d'Aosta
ROP Veneto
ROP Sardegna PhI
NOP Azioni di sistema
ROP Abruzzo
ROP Emilia Romagna
ROP Friuli-Venezia Giulia
ROP Lazio
ROP Liguria
ROP Lombardia
ROP Marche
ROP Molise
ROP P.A. Bolzano
ROP P.A. Trento
ROP Piemonte
ROP Toscana
ROP Umbria
ROP Valle d'Aosta
ROP Veneto 
ROP Sardegna 
Total
Total
Total NSRF 2007-13
European Territorial Cooperation
OP Alpine Space
OP Italy-France (maritime border)
OP Italia-France Alps (ALCOTRA)
OP Italy-Switzerland
OP Italy-Slovenia
OP Italy-Malta
OP CTE MED - Méditerranée
OP Italy-Austria
OP Italy-Greece
OP Central Europe
Total 

ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF
ESF

559 000 000
430 249 377
1 049 619 576
128 946 235
639 600 000
207 143 108
742 964 746

ERDF

515 575 907

803 893 176
ERDF
138 095 405
ERDF
247 654 915
ERDF
1 374 728 891
ERDF
3 102 696 821
ERDF
579 040 437
ERDF
1 499 120 026
ERDF
3 432 397 599
ERDF
2 619 021 978
ERDF
3 269 802 550
ERDF
300 874 549
ERDF
17 882 902 254
ERDF
3 757 523 042
ESF
21 640 425 296
Funds
Community Contribution

127 719 591
ESF
295 929 210
ESF
120 355 589
ESF
368 038 775
ESF
147 619 048
ESF
338 017 613
ESF
111 554 330
ESF
37 665 371
ESF
60 745 159
ESF
61 198 969
ESF
397 283 869
ESF
313 045 574
ESF
98 984 087
ESF
32 911 544
ESF
349 019 589
ESF
291 716 470
ESF
28 680 066
ESF
139 760 495
ERDF
128 107 883
ERDF
74 069 674
ERDF
371 756 338
ERDF
168 145 488
ERDF
210 887 281
ERDF
112 906 728
ERDF
70 765 241
ERDF
26 021 981
ERDF
19 286 428
ERDF
426 119 322
ERDF
338 466 574
ERDF
149 975 890
ERDF
19 524 245
ERDF
207 939 920
ERDF
680 671 765
ERDF
3 144 405 253
 ERDF
3 180 484 854
 ESF
 Funds
6 324 890 107
Community Contribution

ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

36 148 288
94 928 391
87 419 616
68 811 858
92 430 163
19 106 204
97 660 512
37 684 265
57 538 575
32 946 071
624 673 943

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

2.9%

9.1%

11.2%

0.4%

1.5%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.2%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

0.0%

7.7%

5.2%

0.2%

29.5%

0.7%

2.8%

3.3%

18.7%

6.6%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  34.2%

Improving human capital 

34.0%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  8.7%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

15.2%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

1.5%

2.8%

3.6%

Contact point in Italy
Italian authority with overall 
responsibility for Cohesion policy 
2007-13:

Ministero dello Sviluppo 
Economico
(Ministry of Economic Development)
Dipartimento per le Politiche di 
Sviluppo
Servizio per le Politiche dei Fondi 
Strutturali Comunitari
Via Sicilia, 162/C
I - 00187 Rome
Italy
Tel:  +39-06-47619952 - 3 - 8 - 9
Fax: +39-06-42086946
Email: sabina.deluca@tesoro.it

The full text of the NSRF is 
available at:
> 

www.dps.mef.gov.it/qsn/qsn.asp

41

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Cyprus

Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

The application of the acquis is suspended in the 
areas in which the Government of the Republic of 
Cyprus does not exercise eﬀ ective control.

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Cyprus  has 
been  allocated  approximately  €640 
million,  €213  million  under  the  Cohe-
sion Fund (CF), €399 million under the 
Regional Competitiveness and Employ-
ment  objective  (Phasing-in),  and  €28 
million  under  the  European  Territorial 
Cooperation  objective.  Cyprus’  contri-
bution combined with the EU contribu-
tion should bring the total investment 
to €720 million, calculated on the basis 
of an annual average of €103 million (at 
2006 prices). This is an increase of 255% 
on  the  annual  average  registered  for 
the 2004-06 reference period.

Regions to receive investment

All  of  Cyprus  constitutes  a  NUTS  II 
“region”,  however  according  to  Pro-
tocol  10  of  the  Accession Treaty,  the 
Community  acquis  is  suspended  in 

• 

• 

the areas of the Republic of Cyprus in 
which the Government of the Repub-
lic of Cyprus does not exercise eﬀ ec-
tive control. According to Protocol 3 of 
this Treaty, the British bases in Cyprus 
are not included in the eligible areas. 
In  comparison  to  the  previous  fund-
ing period, where only certain urban 
and rural areas were eligible for fund-
ing,  the  new  period  sees  all  govern-
ment controlled areas eligible.

 Strategic objectives

As laid down in Cyprus’ National Stra-
tegic  Reference  Framework  (NSRF), 
funds will be invested in ﬁ ve thematic 
priorities:
• 

Strengthening  the  productive  base 
of  the  economy  and  supporting 
enterprises.
Knowledge society and promotion 
of RTD and innovation.
Human 

resources,  employment 

• 

• 

and social cohesion.
Environment, transport and energy 
infrastructures.
Development  of  sustainable  com-
munities.

The thematic priority “Strengthening 
the productive base of the economy 
and  supporting  enterprises”  seeks 
to  strengthen  the  competitiveness 
of  certain  sectors  in  the  economy 
through diversiﬁ cation of the produc-
tive base, high value added activities, 
improved productivity and strength-
ened  organisational  structures  with 
new  and 
innovative  methods  for 
management and production. 

In  the  context  of  the  thematic  prior-
ity  “Knowledge  society  and  promo-
tion  of  RTD  and  innovation”,  inno-
vation,  research  and  technological 
development  will  be  promoted  and 
will  in  turn  contribute  to  boosting 
competitiveness. 

Contributions to the priority “Human 
resources,  employment  and  social 
cohesion” will aim primarily at making 
full use of employment opportunities 
by maintaining a high rate of expan-
sion in the supply of labour through 
a cohesive and active strategy for the 
labour market. 

Support  for  the  environment  sector 
will  concentrate  on  the  infrastructure 
required  for  safeguarding  the  rational 
environmental 
of 
management 
resources, with emphasis on the man-
agement  of  solid  and  liquid  waste. 
Investment  in  transport  infrastructure 
will concentrate on actions designed to 
contribute  towards  improving  acces-
sibility  and  reducing  transaction  costs 
through  the  upgrading  of  road  trans-
port and port infrastructures, especially 
those within Trans-European Transport 
Networks. Support will also be given to 
actions aimed at improving energy eﬃ  -
ciency,  safeguarding  energy  supplies, 
reducing  dependence  on  petroleum 
and  promoting  further  use  of  renew-
able sources of energy (RSE).

42

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The thematic priority “Development of 
sustainable communities” will involve 
a combination of actions. In rural areas, 
the  aim  is  to  make  these  areas  more 
attractive  through  better  accessibility 
and  through  the  creation  of  an  envi-
ronment  that  ensures  the  well-being 
of citizens. In urban areas, the actions 
will concentrate on improving the nat-
ural and man-made environment and 
on setting out a comprehensive urban 
development  plan  focused  on  creat-
ing  cultural  infrastructure. The  devel-
opment of a modern public transport 
system  will  be  a  key  feature  of  the 
strategy, in respect of both intra- and 
inter-urban connections.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Several of the objectives set by Cyprus 
under  the  new  Cohesion  policy  will 
contribute to fundamentally changing 
the  current  state  of  aﬀ airs  in  the  rel-
evant sectors. These include the target 
of  increasing  research  and  develop-
ment expenditure from 0.37% in 2004 
to  1%  of  GDP  by  2010,  the  target  of 
increasing the percentage of journeys 
using  the  public  transport  system 
from 2% currently to 10%, the aim of 
increasing the annual GDP growth rate 
from 3.80% to 4.2% and increasing the 
employment rate from 68.5% to 71%. 
In  addition,  the  sizeable  allocation 
destined  for  the  environment  sector 
will result in the requirements of waste 
largely  being 
management  acquis 
met,  while  the  intended  investment 
in  innovation  will  boost  the  business 
sector  which  is  currently  dominated 
by micro-enterprises. 

tled “Employment, Human Capital and 
Social  Cohesion”  will  receive  funding 
from the European Social Fund (ESF).

The ERDF will also contribute towards 
ﬁ nancing  of  the  European Territorial 
Cooperation  objective  consisting  of 
three  strands:  cross-border,  trans-
national  and  inter-regional.  Cyprus 
will take part in the following opera-
tional programmes:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Cooperation 

Cross-border  Cooperation  with 
Greece.
Cross-border 
Cyprus – Turkey.
Mediterranean  Space  (Mediterra-
nean Space/MED).
Mediterranean  CBC  Sea  Basin 
Programme.
Inter-regional  Cooperation  in  the 
European  Union  among  all  Mem-
ber States.

NSRF Financial Table

Operational Programme

Employment, Human Capital and Social Cohesion
Sustainable Development and Competitiveness
Sustainable Development and Competitiveness
Total
Total
Total
Total NSRF 2007-13

Fund
ESF
CF
ERDF
CF
ERDF
ESF
All Funds

Total
119 769 154
213 204 484
279 461 354
213 204  484
279 461 354
119 769 154
612 434 992

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Cyprus in its draft operational programmes

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

6.5%

1.2%

37.2%

3.2%

2.0%

25.2%

3.8%

12.3%

8.6%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  17.7%

Improving human capital 

51.0%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  11.4%

An investment for growth and jobs

Technical assistance 

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

9.2%

7.8%

2.8%

Cyprus’  NSRF  includes  a  major  com-
mitment  to  the  Lisbon  Strategy  for 
jobs  and  growth,  given  the  alloca-
tion of 58.9% to investments directly 
related to the strategy.

Operational programmes

Cyprus intends to translate the broad 
priorities  contained  in  the  National 
Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 
into  two  operational  programmes. 
The  ﬁ rst,  “Sustainable  Development 
and  Competitiveness”,  will  receive 
funding  from  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund  (ERDF)  and  the 
Cohesion  Fund  (CF),  the  second  enti-

Contact point in Cyprus
Cyprus authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

The Planning Bureau
29 Vironos Avenue - 1096 Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel:  +357 22 602900
Fax: +357 22 666810
Email: planningbureau@planning.gov.cy

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

http://www.planning.gov.cy/planning/
planning.nsf/Main?OpenFrameSet

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Latvia

Convergence Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For 2007-13, Latvia has been allocated 
approximately  €4.6  billion  in  total, 
€1.5 billion under the Cohesion Fund, 
€2.9  billion  under  the  Convergence 
objective,  and  €90  million  under 
the  European Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.

Between  2007  and  2013,  the  entire 
Latvian population of 2.3 million will 
be living in Convergence regions.

Strategic objectives

As laid down in Latvia’s National Stra-
tegic  Reference  Framework  (NSRF), 
the  EU  funding  will  be  invested  in 
three strategic objectives:
• 

Development  and  eﬃ  cient  use  of 
human resources.
Strengthened 
competitiveness 
and  progress  towards  a  knowl-
edge-based economy.

• 

• 

Improved  public  services  and 
infrastructure as a precondition for 
balanced  national  and  territorial 
development.

In  addition  to  the  above  strategic 
objectives, there are also six horizon-
tal objectives: 
• 
• 

Balanced territorial development.
International  competitiveness  of 
the city of Riga.
Macroeconomic stability.
Equal opportunities.
Sustainable development.
Information society.

• 
• 
• 
• 

The  funds  will  concretely  contribute 
to  ﬁ elds  including  urban  develop-
ment, which is currently concentrated 
around a few large areas, namely Riga 
(and  its  surroundings),  which  hosts 
almost half of the Latvian population. 
The  ERDF  (an  amount  of  €267  mil-
lion)  will  support  the  development 
of 17 cities. The focus will also be on 

44

improving  the  eﬃ  ciency  of  public 
administration,  a  prerequisite 
for 
management of the EU funds. The EU 
contribution will help compensate for 
gaps in the education system and will 
boost the creation of new businesses 
and  improvements  to  the  national 
road network.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Latvia  has  established  three  pro-
grammes to achieve the strategic objec-
tives mentioned above. To measure the 
impact  investment  of  Latvia  has  set 
target  indicators  for  these  operational 
programmes as well as for the NSRF. EU 
funding is designed to achieve several 
speciﬁ c targets, including:
• 

retaining  an  annual  GDP  growth 
rate of 6-8% (baseline of 2006 was 
11.9%).
increasing  the  employment  rate 
to  70%:  the  employment  rate 
for  women  to  66%  and  for  older 
people  to  55%,  (baseline  of  2006 
=  66.3%:  employment  rate  for 
women  of  62.3%,  employment 
rate for older people of 53.3%).
decreasing 
the  unemployment 
rate to under 6% (baseline of 2006 
= 6.5%).
level 
reaching  an  expenditure 
of  1.5%  of  GDP  for  research  and 
development  (baseline  of  2005  = 
0.57%).
increasing  to  85%  the  percent-
age  of  youth  aged  20–24  having 
completed  at  least  upper  second-
ary  education  (baseline  of  2005  = 
79.9%).
increasing  to  62%  the  proportion 
of 
inhabitants  with  wastewater 
management  services  according 
to legislative measures (baseline of 
2004 = 9%).

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

An investment for growth and jobs

The NSRF strategy will provide strong 
support  for  the  Lisbon  agenda,  with 
61% of the funds allocated to relevant 
activities.

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Operational programmes

Latvia has translated the broad priori-
ties contained in the National Strate-
gic Reference Framework (NSRF) into 
three operational programmes:

• 

• 

the 

Two  operational  programmes 
(European 
ERDF 
under 
Regional  Development  Fund)  and 
Cohesion Fund .
One operational programme under 
the ESF (European Social Fund).

The  NSRF  does  not  cover  the  opera-
tional  programmes  within  the  Euro-
pean Territorial Cooperation objective.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Latvia in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

ESF

Human Resources and Employment

FSE

60 319 858

ERDF and the Cohesion Fund

Entrepreneurship and Innovations

FEDER

80 478 333

Infrastructure and Services

Cohesion 
Fund

169 410 403

Infrastructure and Services

FEDER

186 066 917

Infrastructure and Services

Total

Total

Total

FEDER 
+ CF

Cohesion 
Fund

355 477 320

169 410 403

FEDER

266 545 250

FSE

60 319 858

Total ERDF/ESF/CF

All Funds

496 275 511

European Regional Development
European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

1.1%

3.2%

19.9%

0.4%

4.8%

13.2%

17.9%

2.4%

1.1%

29.5%

6.6%

European Social Fund 2007 13
European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  23.8%

Improving human capital 

43.1%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons   7.7%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

8.8%

0.8%

12.5%

3.3%

Contact point in Latvia
Latvian authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:
Ministry of Transport
Smilsu iela 1
LV-1919 Riga
Latvia
Tel:  +371 7 095675
Fax: +371 7 095697

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.esfondi.lv/events.php?id=496http://www.
esfondi.lv

45

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Lithuania

Convergence Objective 2007-13

Convergence 
Regions

Phasing-out 
Regions

Phasing-in 
Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment 
Regions

Boundaries

National

Nuts 2

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

The investment

For the 2007-13 period, Lithuania has 
been  allocated  some  €6.7  billion  of 
Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds 
under  the  Convergence  objective. 
This will be supplemented by an esti-
mated €1.5 billion of national invest-
ment,  bringing  the  total  sum  for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13 in Lithuania 
to about €8.2 billion.

To  achieve  these  targets,  the  NSRF 
includes  ten  priorities  falling  under 
three strategic objectives:
• 

Productive  human  resources  for 
the knowledge society

– 

– 
– 

– 

Attract  and  retain  people  in  the 
labour market.
More active lifelong learning.
Develop a labour force with high-
level qualiﬁ cations.
More  eﬃ  cient  public  admini s-
tration.

Regions to receive investment

• 

Competitive economy

All of Lithuania is covered by the Con-
vergence objective.

Strategic objectives

The  core  targets  of  the  Lithuanian 
National  Strategic  Reference  Frame-
work (NSRF) concern (a) accelerating 
long-term economic growth, (b) cre-
ating  more  and  better  workplaces, 
and  (c)  developing  social  cohesion. 

– 

– 

– 

Increase  business  productivity, 
notably  by  creating  a  favour-
able  environment  for  small  and 
medium-sized  enterprises  and 
innovation.
Increase  the  comparative  share 
of high added value business.
Make  the  economic  infrastruc-
ture more eﬀ ective.

• 

Life quality and cohesion

– 

Make  better  use  of 
potential.

local 

46

– 

– 

Provide  quality  and  accessible 
public services.
Ensure better environmental quality.

The  NSRF  proposes  four  horizon-
tal  areas  to  which  the  entire  strat-
egy  must  contribute: 
information 
society,  sustainable  development, 
equal  opportunities  and  regional 
development.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy 

To  measure  the  impact  of  the  strat-
egy, Lithuania has proposed a range 
of  target  objectives  for  2013,  includ-
ing  an  increase  in  the  employment 
rate for the 15-64 year old population 
to 70% (compared to 61.2% in 2004), 
as  well  as  an  increase  in  labour  pro-
ductivity  to  65%  of  the  EU  average 
(41.7% in 2004). Other objectives are: 
to increase R&D (research and devel-
opment) expenditure to 2.2% of GDP 

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Lithuania in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Convergence Objective

ESF

Total
Community 
Contribution

Dvt of human resources

Technical assistance 

ESF

ESF

935 018 009

93 288 718

ERDF and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

ERDF + CF

3 098 853 525

Economic growth

ERDF

1 966 562 132

CF

1 132 291 393

ERDF + CF

2 648 332 571

Cohesion promotion

ERDF

1 475 388 221

Total (ESF + ERDF +CF)

Total ESF

Total ERDF

Total Cohesion Fund

CF

1 172 944 350

6 775 492 823

1 028 306 727

3 441 950 353

2 305 235 743

(0.76%  in  2004),  with  an  increase  in 
the number of researchers to 6.1 per 
thousand  employed,  15%  of  whom 
will  be  in  the  private  sector  (respec-
tively 5.12/6.6% in 2004); to see 95% 
of  the  main  public  services  oﬀ ering 
electronic services (49% in 2004) and 
to  reach  70%  of  Internet  users  (30% 
in 2005);  and to reduce the primary 
energy  intensity  of  the  country  by 
10% (132 koe/1000 LTL at 2002 prices 
in  2005).  Similar  quantitative  targets 
are  set  in  the  social  area,  commu-
nications,  environmental  and  other 
economic sectors and also in terms of 
eﬃ  ciency in public administration.

An investment for growth and jobs

Lithuania has earmarked 54.6% of the 
2007-13  programme  investment  for 
the Lisbon Strategy, which represents 
a signiﬁ cant portion in relation to the 
previous period. Furthermore, in line 
with  its  vision  for  2015,  the  country 
plans to invest part of the programme 
allocation  in  sectors  such  as  educa-
tion  and  health  in  support  of  its  Lis-
bon National Reform Programme.

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

3.2%

7.6%

16.3%

0.7%

4.2%

13.6%

19.1%

1.6%

2.7%

26.6%

4.4%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

9.5%

Improving human capital 

36.2%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  5.8%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

20.9%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

0.1%

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

16.5%

11.0%

Operational programmes

Lithuania  has  translated  the  objec-
tives and priorities into the following 
four operational programmes:
• 

Development of Human Resources, 
supported by the European Social 
Fund (ESF).

• 

• 

• 

Economic  Growth,  supported  by 
the  European  Regional  Develop-
ment  Fund  (ERDF)  and  Cohesion 
Fund (CF).
Cohesion  Promotion,  supported 
by the ERDF and CF.
Technical Assistance, supported by 
the ESF.

Contact point in 
Lithuania
Lithuanian authority with 
overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministry of Finance
J. Tumo-Vaižganto g. 8a/2
LT-01512 Vilnius
Lithuania
> 

www.ﬁ nmin.lt/web/
ﬁ nmin/home 

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Luxembourg

Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007-13

Strategic objectives

This  strategic  document  forms  the 
framework  for  the  European  invest-
ment of €65.2 million in Luxembourg 
during  the  2007-13  programming 
period. The authorities have set three 
priorities for the investments:
• 

to  contribute  to  making  Luxem-
bourg  a  more  attractive  place  for 
investing and working, notably by 
promoting the setup of small and 
medium-sized  enterprises  (SME) 
and  redeveloping  urban  areas 
that  have  undergone  economic 
changes;
to  improve  knowledge  and  inno-
vation, two key growth factors, by 
focusing  investments  on  equip-
ping  private  and  public  research 
centres  and  by  encouraging  the 
innovation eﬀ ort of enterprises;
to  create  more  and  better  jobs, 
by  providing  personal  assistance 
to  job  seekers  and  by  increasing 
the low employment rates among 
women and older workers.

• 

• 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  new  programming  period, 
Luxembourg 
is  to  receive  Cohe-
sion  Policy  funds  from  the  Euro-
pean  Union  to  assist  the  country 
in  implementing  two  programmes 
under the Regional Competitiveness 
and  Employment  objective 
(one 
ERDF  programme  and  one  ESF  pro-
gramme,  each  worth  €25.2  million) 
as  well  as  one  or  possibly  several 
programmes  under  the  European 

Territorial  Cooperation  objective  for 
an amount of €14.8 million. The total 
support provided therefore amounts 
to €65 million.

Regions to receive investment

The entire country is to beneﬁ t under 
the  Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment  objective,  in  contrast 
to the previous 2000-06 period when 
only certain speciﬁ c areas were enti-
tled to beneﬁ t from ERDF funds.

48

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Due to its limited ﬁ nancial resources, 
the NSRF must ensure that the Com-
munity  support  focuses  on  a  set 
number of themes and priorities and 
on  operations  that  pave  the  way  in 
terms  of  regional  development  and 
employment.  The  aim  is  to  avoid 
all  forms  of  “diluting”  or  “spreading 
thinly” and to obtain maximum Com-
munity value added.

One of Luxembourg’s features is its 
low  level  of  public  investment  in 
research  and  development  (R&D). 
Private  R&D  differs  in  that  it  is 
concentrated  in  a  handful  of  large 
enterprises.  However,  the  setting 
up of the University of Luxembourg 
and  a  National  Research  Fund 
should  contribute  towards  improv-
ing  the  situation.  Investments  in 
R&D should achieve the 3% of GDP 
target by 2010.

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The NSRF will help Luxembourg meet 
the  objectives  that  it  set  itself  under 
the Kyoto Protocol, namely reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 
2012 in comparison to 1990 levels.

An investment for growth and jobs

75% of the total Funds will target the 
priorities set out in the Lisbon Strategy 
for growth and jobs (notably research 
innovation,  energy  eﬃ  ciency, 
and 

freeing up of SMEs, entrepreneurship 
and education, investment in human 
capital  and  modernisation  of  labour 
markets).  As  regards  the  ERDF,  82% 
of  expenditure  will  be  in  line  with 
the  Lisbon  Strategy.  For  the  ESF,  the 
entire amount will be allocated to the 
Integrated Guidelines (IG) for growth 
and  employment  as  established  at 
Community level.

Operational programmes

The  objectives  of  the  NSRF  will  be 
implemented  through  two  opera-
tional programmes:
• 

one  ERDF 
gramme;
one ESF Luxembourg programme.

Luxembourg  pro-

• 

Additional  ﬁ nancial  support  of  €14.8 
million is to be set aside for the Euro-
pean Territorial Cooperation objective.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Luxembourg in its draft operational programmes

Fund

Total

Competitiveness and Employment Objective

ERDF OP

ESF OP

Total

25 243 666

25 243 666

50 487 332

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Urban and rural regeneration 

9.0%

15.0%

5.0%

64.0%

4.0%

3.0%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  44.8%

Improving human capital 

41.6%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  9.6%

Technical assistance 

4.0%

Contact point in Luxembourg
Luxembourg authority with overall 
responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministère de l’économie
Boulevard Royal 6
L-2449 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 478 41 37

The text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

 http://www.eco.public.lu/
attributions/dg2/d_politique_regionale/
feder2007/index.html

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Hungary

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

growth and increase employment. 

Hungary  has  been  allocated  €25.3 
billion  for  the  2007-13  programming 
period.  The  Hungarian  contribution  
will be €4.4 billion.

Regions to receive investment

Of  the  seven  Hungarian  regions,  six 
fall under the Convergence objective 
and one, the Central Hungary region, 
fulls  under  the  Phasing-in  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective.

Strategic objectives

The main objectives of the Hungarian 
National  Strategic  Reference  Frame-
work (NSRF) are to sustain long-term 

Sustained  long-term  growth  is  to  be 
achieved through the following spe-
ciﬁ c objectives:
• 

improving competitiveness, includ-
ing  strengthening  the  knowledge 
economy;
widening the economic basis; and
developing  the  business  environ-
ment.

• 
• 

is 

Increased  employment 
to  be 
achieved through the following spe-
ciﬁ c objectives:
increasing 
supply  by 
labour 
• 
improving employability and labour 
market activity;
increasing labour demand by pro-
moting job creation;
developing  a  labour  market  envi-

• 

• 

ronment  that  ensures  balance 
between supply and demand.

The  objectives  of  the  NSRF  are 
translated  into  six  thematic  and  ter-
ritorial  priorities:  economic  develop-
ment,  transport  development,  social 
renewal,  environment  and  energy, 
regional  development  and  state 
reform. In the ﬁ eld of economic devel-
opment,  investments  will  be  made 
in  RTD,  SME  development,  business 
infrastructure  and  ICT.  In  transport, 
support  will  be  provided  for  TEN-T 
priority projects, road and rail invest-
ments  and  the  development  of  sus-
tainable  means  transport. The  social 
renewal  priority  will  see  support 
targeted at active labour market poli-
cies and investments in human capi-
tal  and  human  infrastructure.  In  the 
environmental  ﬁ eld,  priority  is  given 
to  ensuring  compliance  with  the 
Community’s  environmental  legisla-
tion, with a focus on actions targeting 
wastewater and drinking water. 

As  regards  regional  development, 
support  is  to  be  given  to  regional 
growth  poles,  rural  development 
and  the  realignment  of  disadvan-
taged micro-regions. In terms of state 
reform,  the  aims  are  to  modernise 
Hungary’s  public  administration  and 
provide support to civil society.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

To measure the impact of the invest-
ments,  Hungary  has  set  the  follow-
ing  target:  an  increase  of  more  than 
10% in the added value generated by 
enterprises by 2015 and a 4% increase 
in the number of employees outside 
the public sphere by 2015.

An investment for growth and jobs

The  Hungarian  NSRF  includes  a  com-
mitment whereby spending on the ear-
marked  Lisbon  categories  is  expected 
to  increase  by  another  10%  in  the 
2007-13 period (46% during 2004-06). 

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Operational programmes

The  objectives  and  priorities  of  the 
NSRF  will  result  in  15  operational 
programmes,  two  of  which  are  co-
ﬁ nanced by the European Social Fund 
(ESF) and 13 by the European Regional 
Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohe-
sion  Fund  (CF).  The  15  operational 

programmes  include  seven  regional 
and eight sectoral programmes.

The ERDF will also contribute towards 
ﬁ nancing  the  European  Territorial 
Cooperation  Objective.  Hungary  will 
be  taking  part  in  operational  pro-
grammes for:
• 

Cross  border  cooperation  with 

• 

• 

Slovakia,  Austria,  Romania  and 
Slovenia.
Transnational cooperation between
Central Eastern Europe and South 
Eastern Europe.
Interregional  cooperation  in  the 
European  Union  among  all  Mem-
ber States.

NSRF ﬁ nancial tables

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Hungary in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Competitiveness and 
Employment objective

Fund

Total

Community contribution

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Social Renewal

State Reform

Central Hungary

Electronic Public Administration

Total

Total

ESF

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ESF

443 788 569

43 670 032

1 467 196 353

76 422 554

1 543 618 907

487 458 601

Total NSRF 2007-13

Convergence

All Funds

2 031 077 508

Community contribution

Social Renewal

State Reform

Economic Competitiveness

Environment and Energy

Environment and Energy

West Pannon

South Great Plain

Central Transdanubia

North Hungary

Transport

Transport

Social Infrastructure

North Great Plain

Implementation

South Transdanubia

Electronic Public Administration

Total

Total

Total

Total NSRF 2007-13

ESF

ESF

ERDF

CF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

CF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

CF

ERDF

ERDF

CF

3 038 729 475

102 900 475

2 495 769 115

3 782 815 205

396 031 136

463 752 893

748 714 608

507 919 836

903 723 589

4 544 368 075

1 679 061 074

1 948 922 941

975 070 186

315 132 937

705 136 988

282 022 559

8 642 316 217

ERDF

11 106 124 925

ESF

3 141 629 950

All Funds 22 890 071 092

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

2.0%

1.7%

28.2%

0.4%

1.1%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.1%

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

3.5%

11.7%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

0.0%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

16.3%

0.0%

3.9%

2.1%

25.8%

3.2%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

9.1%

Improving human capital 

58.7%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  8.8%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

15.7%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

0.2%

4.1%

3.4%

Contact point in Hungary
Hungarian authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

National Development Agency
56 Pozsonyi Street
H-1133 Budapest
Hungary
Tel:  + 36 1 2374400
> 

www.nfu.hu/?lang=en

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.nfu.hu/index

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Malta

Convergence Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Strategic objectives

For  the  2007-13  period,  Malta  has 
been allocated €855 million, all under 
the  Convergence  objective.  To  com-
plement  the  EU  investment,  Malta’s 
contribution should amount to €748 
million, calculated on the basis of an 
annual  average  of  €106.831  million 
(all  2006  prices).  This  is  an  increase 
of  3.4%  over  the  annual  average 
registered  for  the  2004-05  reference 
period.

Regions to receive investment

All of Malta is eligible for the Conver-
gence objective, as was the case dur-
ing the period 2000-06 when 100% of 
the  population  lived  in  areas  falling 
under Objective 1.

The  money  will  be  invested  in  four 
strategic objectives:
• 

sustaining a growing, knowledge-
based and competitive economy
improving  Malta’s  attractiveness 
and quality of life
investing in human capital
addressing 
distinctiveness.

regional 

Gozo’s 

• 

• 
• 

The  strategic  objective  of  sustaining 
a  growing,  knowledge-based  and 
competitive economy involves eﬀ orts 
to  support  enterprise  and  mobilise 
investment in RTDI and initiatives put 
forward to sustain the tourism indus-
try  and  promote  culture.  Improving 
Malta’s  attractiveness  and  quality 
of  life  is  underpinned  by  eﬀ orts  to 
improve  and  expand  the  transport 

52

infrastructure,  undertake  investment 
to achieve a sustainable environment, 
invest in risk prevention, and services 
of  general  economic  interest,  pro-
mote  energy  eﬃ  ciency  and  the  dif-
fusion  of  renewable  energy  sources 
(RES), improve accessibility measures, 
undertake  urban  regeneration,  and 
support  investment  in  health  care 
and  social  infrastructure.  Investing 
in human capital focuses on the edu-
cation  and  employment  sector,  and 
covers  social  inclusion  and  institu-
tional development. Finally, address-
ing  Gozo’s  regional  distinctiveness 
focuses on promoting enterprise and 
the  development  of  key  economic 
sectors on the sister island, addressing 
the key accessibility issues pertaining 
to  transport  infrastructure,  protect-
ing the environment and developing 
human capital and skills.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

To measure the impact of investments, 
Malta has set the following target indi-
cators: convergence of GDP per capita 
in  relation  to  the  EU  to  increase  from 
69.2% (2005) to 74% (2013); Gozo has 
an individual target in relation to Malta, 
namely an increase from 71% (2003) to 
78%  (2013);  a  4%  increase  in  nominal 
exports of goods and services over the 
2007-13  period,  in  order  to  measure 
Malta’s  achievements  in  competitive-
ness; and an employment rate increase 
from 54.3% (2005) to 57% (2013).

An investment for growth and jobs

Malta’s  National  Strategic  Reference 
Framework  (NSRF)  includes  a  signiﬁ -
cant  commitment,  as  it  substantially 
increases  the  share  of  investment 
earmarked for the Lisbon Strategy for 
jobs and growth (>43%), in compari-
son to the 2004-06 period (<20%).

Operational programmes

Malta intends to apply the broad prior-
ities contained in the NSRF in the form 

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NSRF Financial Tables

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Malta in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Convergence Objective 

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

ERDF and CF

OPI

ERDF+CF
ERDF
CF

728 123 051
443 978 031
284 145 020

ESF

ESF

OPII
TOTAL all Funds NSRF 2007-13
Total ERDF
Total CF
Total ESF
EAFRD
EFF

112 000 000
840 123 051
443 978 031
284 145 020
112 000 000
76 633 355
8 372 329

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

9.5%

4.8%

32.8%

3.7%

8.1%

9.6%

0.3%

1.2%

3.3%

25.3%

1.4%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  14.3%

Improving human capital 

34.4%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  17.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

17.0%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

2.0%

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

11.6%

3.8%

of two operational programmes. The 
ﬁ rst,  entitled  “Investing  in  competi-
tiveness for a better quality of life”, will 
receive  funding  from  the  European 
Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF) 
and the Cohesion fund (CF), while the 
second,  entitled  “Empowering  peo-
ple  for  more  jobs  and  better  quality 
of  life”,  will  receive  funding  from  the 
European Social Fund (ESF).

The ERDF will also contribute towards 
ﬁ nancing  of  the  European Territorial 
Cooperation  objective  consisting  of 
three  strands:  cross-border,  transna-
tional  and  interregional.  Under  the 
European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective, Malta will take part in oper-
ational programmes for:

• 

• 

• 

Cross-border  cooperation  with 
Italy (parts of Sicily)
Transnational cooperation between 
EU  Member  States  in  the  Mediter-
ranean region
Interregional  cooperation  in  the 
EU among all Member States.

Malta will also be eligible for the Medi-
terranean Programme under the ENPI.

Contact point in Malta
Maltese authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Planning and Priorities Co-ordination Division 
(PPCD)
12, St. Paul’s Street 
Valletta
Malta
Tel:  +356 2200 1442/3
Fax: +356 2200 1141
> 

http://ppcd.gov.mt/english/main.htm

The authority is within the Oﬃ  ce of the Prime 
Minister.

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

http://ppcd.gov.mt/english/downloads/NSRF.zip

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Netherlands

Competitiveness and Employment Objectives 2007-13

• 

• 

• 
• 

• 

the  attractiveness  of 

Raising 
regions.
Investing  in  the  socio-economic 
viability of cities.
Increasing the labour supply 
Promoting  an 
market.
Increasing adaptability / investing 
in human capital.

inclusive 

labour 

In addition, the Netherlands has iden-
tiﬁ ed one territorial priority: 
• 

Promoting  eﬀ ective  cooperation 
with neighbouring countries.

As  Dutch  regional  disparities  are  rela-
tively  minimal,  the  policy  will  be  ori-
ented towards the growth potential of 
all regions. To ensure the most eﬀ ective 
use of Structural Funds, the strategy will 
closely follow existing national policies 
(‘Pieken in de Delta’, ‘Nota Ruimte’, ‘Gro-
testedenbeleid’,  ‘Agenda  Vitaal  Platte-
land’) and ensure that signiﬁ cant eﬀ ort 
is put into these policies.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

The  impact  of  the  Structural  Funds 
in the Netherlands will be measured 
more in terms of output than in terms 
of impact on economic growth. 

Fund), 

For  the  ERDF  (European  Regional 
Development 
this  will 
involve  measures  in  research  and 
technological development (R&TD), 
innovation  and  entrepreneurship, 
and  the  information  society,  with 
the aim being to improve access to 
and  efficient  use  of  ICT  (Informa-
tion  and  Communication  Technol-
ogy)  by  SMEs  (small  and  medium-
sized  enterprises)  and  citizens  (an 
increase  in  the  number  of  invest-
ments and projects). 

For  the  ESF  (European  Social  Fund), 
this will involve measures to improve 
sustainability  and  access  to  employ-
ment  and  to  increase  the  adaptabil-
ity  of  workers  and  ﬁ rms,  enterprises 
and  entrepreneurs  (an  increase  in 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Regions to receive investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  the  Neth-
erlands  has  been  allocated  €1.907 
billion  in  total,  €1.660  billion  under 
the  Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment objective, and €247 mil-
lion  under  the  European  Territorial 
Cooperation  objective.  To  comple-
ment  the  EU  investment  under  the 
National  Strategic  Reference  Pro-
gramme,  the  Netherlands’  contribu-
tion would amount to at least €2.319 
billion in current prices. 

All  Dutch  regions  fall  under  the 
Regional 
and 
Employment objective.

Competitiveness 

Strategic objectives

As  laid  down  in  the  Dutch  National 
Strategic 
Framework 
Reference 
funding  will  be 
(NSRF),  the  EU 
invested in six priority areas: 
• 

innovation  and 

Strengthening 
entrepreneurship.

54

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labour productivity and growth in the 
number of people in work).

the ﬁ gure was well below 50% for the 
Objective 2 programmes.

An investment for growth and jobs

Operational programmes

The  Dutch  NSRF  stipulates  that  the 
regional  operational  programmes 
must devote at least 50% of resources 
to  innovation. The  total  expenditure 
earmarked  for  the  Lisbon  Strategy 
for  Growth  and  Jobs  must  represent 
80% of the funding. For the ERDF, this 
implies  a  signiﬁ cant  increase  com-
pared  to  the  2000-06  period,  when 

The  objectives  and  priorities  of  the 
NSRF  result  in  ﬁ ve  operational  pro-
grammes, one of which is co-ﬁ nanced 
by  the  European  Social  Fund,  four 
from  the  European  Regional  Devel-
opment Fund and the Cohesion Fund. 
The  ﬁ ve  operational  programmes 
include  4  regional  (ERDF)  and  one 
national (ESF) programme.

The ERDF will also contribute towards 
ﬁ nancing for the European Territorial 
Cooperation  objective.  The  Nether-
lands  will  be  taking  part  in  opera-
tional programmes for:
• 

Cross-border  cooperation  with 
Germany and Belgium.
Transnational  cooperation  pro-
gramme  North  Sea  in  North West 
Europe.
Interregional  cooperation  in  the 
European  Union  among  all  Mem-
ber States.

• 

• 

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by the Netherlands in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Competitiveness and 
Employment objective

Fund

Total

Community contribution

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

ESF Netherlands
North Netherlands
West Netherlands
South Netherlands
East Netherlands
Total
Total
NSRF 2007-13

ESF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ESF
All

830 002 737
169 400 000
310 600 000
185 900 000
164 100 000
830 000 000
830 002 737
1 660 002 737

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

3.1%

6.0%

8.1%

3.7%

2.6%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons   0.7%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

1.1%

8.1%

1.5%

0.3%

39.0%

0.1%

4.0%

3.6%

4.8%

13.3%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  24.0%

Improving human capital 

15.4%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons   8.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Technical assistance 

48.6%

4.0%

Contact point in Netherlands
Dutch authority with overall responsibility for Structural Fund 
operations in the Netherlands: 

Ministry of Economic Aﬀ  airs
Bezuidenhoutseweg 30
Postbus 20101
NL-2500 EC Den Haag
The Netherlands
Tel:  +31 (70) 379.60.82
> 

www.minez.nl/content.jsp?objectid=140727

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.ez.nl/content.jsp?objectid=150809

55

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Austria

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Austria  has 
been allocated a total of €1.461 billion: 
€177  million  under  the  Convergence 
objective,  €1.027  billion  under  the 
Regional Competitiveness and Employ-
ment objective, and €257 million under 
the  European  Territorial  Cooperation 
(ETC) objective.

To  complement  the  EU  investment, 
Austria’s contribution would amount to 
€1.256 billion calculated on the basis of 
an annual average of €179.5 million at 
current prices (excluding ETC).

Regions to receive investment

The  Bundesland  of  Burgenland  is  eli-
gible  under  the  Convergence  objec-
tive  (Phasing-out).  All  eight  remaining 
Länder are eligible under the Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective. There is no change from the 
2000-06  period,  during  which  these 

regions received support under “Objec-
tive 1” and “Objective 2” respectively.

• 

Strategic objectives

As laid down in the Austrian National 
Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF 
– working title STRAT.AT), EU funding 
will  be  invested  to  achieve  the  fol-
lowing  strategic  objective:  to  ensure 
quality  of  life,  income  and  employ-
ment  in  Austria  and  strengthen  the 
competitiveness  of  regional  econo-
mies by enhancing the attractiveness 
of Austria’s regions based on the prin-
ciples of sustainable development.  

To achieve this objective, the Austrian 
NSRF  sets  out  three  thematic  priori-
ties  and  two  horizontal  priorities  as 
follows: 

Thematic priorities:
• 

Regional  competitiveness  and 
innovation  -  this  should  not  be 
restricted to technological elements, 

56

and 

but  should  cover  all  activities 
and  take 
into  account  educa-
tional,  social  and  regional  dimen-
sions.  Support  should  be  given 
research  and  development 
to 
(R&D) centres, small and medium-
sized  enterprise  (SME)  networks 
and  clusters,  and  innovation  in 
energy 
eco-technologies 
technologies.
Attractive  regions  and  quality  of 
location - the focus here should be 
on  the  development  of  business 
logistics,  modal-split 
locations, 
and risk prevention.
Adaptability  and  qualiﬁ cation  of 
the  labour  force  -  the  goal  here  is 
the  development  skills  and  qualiﬁ -
cations  for  an  innovation-oriented 
learning  and 
economy, 
access  to  employment 
for  the 
unemployed, with a special focus on 
women, the elderly handicapped.

lifelong 

• 

• 

Horizontal priorities:
• 

- this coop-
Territorial cooperation 
eration is transversal to the above 
priorities.
-  support  to  be  pro-
Governance 
vided for the learning and innova-
tive capacities of regions and their 
citizens.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

In  general,  the  Community 
inter-
vention  is  expected  to  enhance  the 
country’s competitiveness by further 
developing  knowledge  bases  and 
the  innovation  ability  of  enterprises, 
providing  R&D  support,  ensuring 
balanced  regional  development  for 
improved  regional  accessibility,  and 
promoting employment growth. Aus-
tria will develop a system of indicators 
to  evaluate  the  impact  of  Structural 
Funds  on  research  and  innovation 
within each operational programme.

Operational programmes

Austria  will 
priorities  contained 

translate 

the  broad 
in  the  NSRF 

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into  10 regional  operational  pro-
grammes  – 9 ﬁ nanced  by  the  Euro-
pean  Regional  Development  Fund 
and  1  by  the  European  Social  Fund 
(ESF) –  in  addition  to  1 horizontal 
programme ﬁ nanced by the ESF cov-
ering  all  regions  under  the  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective.

The  NSRF  does  not  cover  the  opera-
tional  programmes  within  the  Euro-
pean Territorial Cooperation objective.

for the Convergence region of Burgen-
land and 90% for the Competitiveness 
and Employment regions.

An investment for growth and jobs

The  Austrian  NSRF  includes  a  major 
commitment to the Lisbon Strategy for 
growth and jobs, with 88% earmarked 

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Austria in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme
Convergence Objective 

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

ERDF

ESF

Burgenland

Burgenland
Total funds NSRF 2007-13
Total ERDF
Total ESF

ERDF

125 026 964

ESF

ERDF
ESF

52 140 000
177 166 964
125 026 964
52 140 000

Regional Competitiveness and 
Employment objective

Community Contribution

ERDF

ESF

Kärnten
Niederösterreich 
Oberösterreich
Salzburg
Steiermark
Tirol
Vorarlberg
Wien

Österreich
Total Funds NSRF 2007-13
Total ERDF
Total ESF 

ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

ESF

ERDF
ESF

67 388 430
145 646 798
95 543 517
13 813 480
155 061 854
34 772 988
17 660 129
25 151 861

472 272 560
1 027 311 617
555 039 057
472 272 560

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

1.8%

4.4%

1.3%

0.3%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.2%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

1.4%

2.8%

0.1%

1.6%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

77.5%

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

0.8%

1.9%

1.6%

1.2%

3.1%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  32.0%

Improving human capital 

11.4%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  25.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Technical assistance 

27.0%

1.3%

3.4%

Contact point in Austria
Austrian authority with overall responsibility for Cohesion 
policy 2007-13:

Österreichische Raumordnungskonferrenz 
(ÖROK - Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning)
- within the Oﬃ  ce of the Federal Chancellor 
Hohenstaufengasse 3
Vienna
Austria 
Tel.: +43 1 535 3444  
Fax: +43 1 535 3444/54 
www.oerok.gv.at
> 

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.oerok.gv.at/EU_Regionalpolitik_in_Oesterreich/
strukturfonds_2007_2013/strat_at/strat-at_
einreichfassung_gem_oerok_20061027.pdf 

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Poland

Convergence Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Strategic objectives

For  the  2007-13  period,  Poland  has 
been  allocated  approximately  €67.3 
billion (the largest beneﬁ ciary of Cohe-
sion  policy  for  this  period):  €66.6  bil-
lion  under  the  Convergence  objective 
and  €731  million  under  the  European 
Territorial  Cooperation  objective.  To 
complement EU investments, Poland’s 
contribution (including private sources) 
should amount to €18.3 billion, bring-
ing the total amount available for Cohe-
sion policy activities in Poland to some 
€85.6 billion over the 7-year period.

Regions to receive investment

All  regions  in  Poland  are  eligible 
under the Convergence objective.

As  laid  down  in  the  Polish  National 
Strategic 
Framework 
Reference 
(NSRF),  EU  funding  will  be  invested 
to  achieve  the 
following  overall 
objective:

for 
‘Creation  of  those  conditions 
growth  of  competitiveness  and  of  a 
knowledge based economy and entre-
preneurship,  assuring  an  increase  in 
employment  and  in  level  of  social, 
economic and territorial cohesion’.

This objective is translated into the fol-
lowing 6 speciﬁ c horizontal objectives: 
Improved  functioning  standards 
• 
for  the  public  administration 
and  development  of  partnership 

58

• 

• 

• 

mechanisms  -  the  aim  here  is  to 
improve the administrative capac-
ity  of  the  public  administration 
and  strengthen  civil  society.  Key 
features  will  be  promoting  good 
governance, reducing bureaucracy 
and  placing  an  emphasis  on  high 
quality public services. 
Improved quality of human capi-
tal and enhanced social cohesion 
-  Poland  suﬀ ers  from  high  unem-
ployment  rates  and  low  employ-
ment rates. This objective will take 
up these challenges by improving 
the  adaptability  of  workers  and 
enterprises, increasing social capi-
tal and improving the level of edu-
cation, vocational skills and entre-
preneurial spirit of citizens. 
Development and modernisation 
of technical and social infrastruc-
ture  of  fundamental  importance 
for  growth  in  Poland’s  competi-
tiveness  -  the  goal  is  to  provide 
the missing infrastructure vital for 
boosting  economic  development 
by  linking  major  cities  with  road 
and rail connections, especially on 
TEN-T networks, ensuring eﬃ  cient 
in  populated 
public 
areas,  providing  a  clean  environ-
ment,  improving  the  security  of 
energy supply, promoting renewa-
ble energy sources and improving 
social infrastructure, all in an eﬀ ort 
to  improve  the  attractiveness  of 
Polish regions. 
Improved  competitiveness  and 
innovativeness  of  enterprises, 
including  a  special  focus  on 
the  production  sector  and  high 
added  value  as  well  as  develop-
ment of the services sector - this 
priority will address the low inno-
vativeness  of  the  Polish  economy 
by  promoting  research  and  inno-
links  between 
vation,  building 
the  business  and  science  sector, 
promoting the information society 
and  improving  access  of  enter-
prises  to  external  ﬁ nancing.  Clear 
priority will be given to supporting 
small  and  medium-sized  enter-
prises (SMEs). 

transport 

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An investment for growth and jobs

Poland’s  NSRF  includes  a  signiﬁ cant 
commitment  to  the  Lisbon  Strategy 
for jobs and growth, as it is allocating 
a substantial share (64%) of its invest-
ment directly to elements of the Lis-
bon Strategy.

Operational programmes

Poland has translated the broad prior-
ities in the NSRF into 21 operational 
(OPs):  ﬁ ve  national 
programmes 
programmes  and  16  regional  pro-
grammes for all 16 Polish regions. 

The largest programme is the national 
OP for Infrastructure and Environment 
which  will  include  investments  of 
almost €28 billion from the European 
Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF) 
and Cohesion Fund (CF). The second 
largest programme is the OP Human 
Capital,  with  investments  of  almost 
€10 billion from the European Social 
Fund  (ESF).  The  remaining  national 
programmes (supported by the ERDF) 
are:  OP  Innovative  Economy  (€8.3 
billion),  OP  Development  of  Eastern 

Poland (€2.27 billion) and OP Techni-
cal Assistance (€517 million). 

Over €16.5 billion will be spent via 16 
regional  operational  programmes, 
giving  the  Polish  regions  an  unprec-
edented  opportunity  to  implement 
their regional development strategies 
in line with Community priorities.

The ERDF will also contribute towards 
ﬁ nancing  of  the  European  Territorial 
Cooperation  objective  consisting  of 
tran-
three  strands:  cross-border, 
snational  and  interregional.  The  pro-
grammes will take the following form: 
cross-border  (three  programmes 
• 
-  Germany, 
involving  Poland 
Poland  -  Czech  Republic,  Poland  - 
Slovakia, Poland - Lithuania, South 
Baltic);
transnational  (Baltic  Sea  region, 
Central and Eastern Europe area);
instrument 
neighbourhood 
(Poland-Belorussia 
-  Ukraine, 
Poland  -  Kaliningrad  District  of 
Russian Federation).

• 

• 

A total of €731 million is allocated to 
Poland under this objective.

OP

OP Innovative Economy
OP Human capital 
OP Infrastructure and Environment
OP Development of Eastern Poland
16 Regional OPs
NSRF

Community contribution
Total
8 254 885 280
9 707 176 000
27 913 683 774
2 273 793 750
16 555 614 188
66 553 157 091

“earmarking” in %
Lisbon earmarking
7 831 882 929
8 036 029 819
18 616 256 995
1 000 013 523
7 026 917 404
42 511 100 670

OP
95%
83%
67%
44%
42%
63.9%

• 

• 

Increased  competitiveness  of 
Polish  regions  and  counterbal-
ancing  of  their  social,  economic 
and  geographic  marginalisation 
-  this  priority  aims  at  increasing 
social cohesion within Poland and 
providing tailored-made solutions 
for  regions  in  an  eﬀ ort  to  boost 
their local development potential. 
The investments will endeavour to 
address  regional  problem  areas, 
and will especially concentrate on 
the  urban  dimension  as  part  of  a 
strategy for regional growth poles. 
Special  attention  will  be  devoted 
to  accelerating  growth  in  the  ﬁ ve 
poorest Eastern regions (with spe-
cial  allocation  from  the  European 
Council). 
Balanced  development  opportu-
nities  and  support  for  structural 
changes in rural areas - Poland is a 
predominantly  rural  country,  with 
rural  development  lying  at  the 
heart  of  the  search  for  alternative 
ways of increasing the prospects of 
the Polish economy and rural areas. 
Restructuring  of  the  agricultural 
sector will be one of the main chal-
lenges  to  address.  An  integrated 
approach  will  be  required  as  part 
of converging rural areas, ensuring 
that  they  remain  viable  and  oﬀ er 
attractive communities. 

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

• 

• 

• 

impact  of  these 
To  measure  the 
investments,  Poland  has  set  several 
targets for its development strategy: 
GDP  level  per  capita  (in  PPS)  to 
• 
reach  65%  of  the  EU-25  average 
(compared to 51.1% in 2006); 
3.5 million jobs created with Struc-
tural and Cohesion Fund support; 
employment  rate  of  60%  by  2013 
(compared to 52.8% in 2005); 35% 
for people aged 55-64 (by 2013); 
in  the  business  sector,  productiv-
ity  per  employee  of  75%  of  the 
EU  average  (compared  to  59%  in 
2005); 
1.5%  research  and  development 
expenditure  (compared  to  0.57% 
in 2005); 
improved  infrastructure  with  the 
length  of  motorways  tripling  from 
554  km  to  1 754  km  and  railways 
increasing from 538 km to 1 786 km; 
8.5%  renewable  energy  share  in 
electricity  (compared  to  2.9%  in 
2005).

• 

• 

• 

59

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Poland in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Convergence Objective

16 Regional OPs:
ROP Dolnośląskie
ROP Kujawsko-pomorskie
ROP Lubelskie
ROP Lubuskie
ROP Łódzkie
ROP Małopolskie
ROP Mazowieckie
ROP Opolskie
ROP Podkarpackie
ROP Podlaskie
ROP Pomorskie
ROP Śląskie
ROP Świętokrzyskie
ROP Warmińsko-mazurskie
ROP Wielkopolskie
ROP Zachodniopomorskie
OP Development of Eastern Poland

OP Infrastructure 
& Environment

OP Innovative Economy
OP Technical Assistance
OP Human Capital
Performance reserve

Convergence Objective

16 555 614 188
1 213 144 879
ERDF
951 003 820
ERDF
1 155 854 549
ERDF
439 173 096
ERDF
1 006 380 910
ERDF
1 290 274 402
ERDF
1 831 496 698
ERDF
427 144 813
ERDF
1 136 307 823
ERDF
636 207 883
ERDF
885 065 762
ERDF
1 712 980 303
ERDF
725 807 266
ERDF
1 036 542 041
ERDF
1 272 792 644
ERDF
835 437 299
ERDF
2 273 793 750
ERDF
27 913 683 774
ERDF, CF
5 737 330 000
ERDF
22 176 353 774
CF
8 254 885 280
ERDF
516 700 000
ERDF
9 707 176 000
ESF
ERDF, ESF
1 331 304 099
All funds 66 553 157 091
ERDF,  ESF 44 376 803 317
33 338 323 218
9 707 176 000
22 176 353 774

ERDF
ESF
CF
Performance 
reserve 
(ERDF, ESF)

1 331 304 099

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

1.8%

4.0%

15.8%

6.7%

4.9%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

0.0%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

18.8%

0.1%

3.5%

1.8%

40.9%

1.7%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  25.8%

Improving human capital 

36.8%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  11.2%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

16.1%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

0.7%

5.3%

4.0%

European Territorial 
Cooperation Objective

EFRR

731 092 675

Contact point in Poland
Polish authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministry of Regional Development
2/4 Wspolna Street
00-926 Warsaw
Poland
Tel:  +4822 461 30 00
> 

www.mrr.gov.pl/English

The full text of the NSRF is available at: 
> 

www.mrr.gov.pl/English

60

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Portugal

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

whereas Lisbon is now a full Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective  region.  The  situation  has 
therefore changed from the previous 
2000-06  programming  period,  when 
the entire country, with the exception 
of  Lisbon  (Phasing-out),  was  eligible 
under  the  then  Convergence  objec-
tive (Objective 1).

Strategic objectives

The  Portuguese  National  Strategic 
Reference  Framework  proposes  ﬁ ve 
national  strategic  priorities  for  Com-
munity assistance to: 
• 

develop  the  skills  of  Portuguese 
men and women; 
promote sustainable growth; 
guarantee social cohesion; 
ensure the development of the ter-
ritory and the cities; 
improve 
governance.

eﬃ  ciency 

• 
• 
• 

• 

the 

of 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For the 2007-13 programming period, 
Portugal has been allocated €21.5 bil-
lion  (current  prices)  of  Structural 
Fund  and  Cohesion  Fund  ﬁ nancing 
under  the  Convergence,  Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment, 
and European Territorial Cooperation 
objectives.  In  respect  of  the  Portu-
guese regions eligible under the Con-
vergence objective, Portugal’s overall 
annual  contribution  to  complement 
the EU investment will be €3.9 billion, 

in  accordance  with  the  additionality 
principle.

Regions to receive investment 

For  the  2007-13  period,  the  regions 
North,  Centre,  Alentejo  and  Azores 
are  eligible  under  the  Convergence 
objective.  The  Algarve  region  will 
be  eligible  for  Statistical  Phasing-
out  (transitional  support  until  2013). 
The  region  of  Madeira  falls  under 
Phasing-in for the Regional Competi-
tiveness  and  Employment  objective, 

61

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Portugal has set a number of targets 
with  related  indicators,  in  line  with 
the  strategic  priorities,  to  measure 
the  impact  of  the  Cohesion  policy 
in  the  2007-13  period.  One  of  the 
main  concerns  of  the  authorities  is 
the  education  sector:  for  example, 
by 2009 young people up to 18 years 
of  age  should  beneﬁ t  fully  from  the 
education  system  (whether  general 
or  vocational  courses).  The  target  is 
to  increase  the  share  of  vocational 
courses  available  at  secondary  level 
to  50%,  in  an  eﬀ ort  to  reduce  the 
extremely high school drop out rates 
(38% 
in  2005).  Another  objective 
is  to  increase  the  share  of  medium 
and  high  technology  companies  in 
the  industry  sector  from  3.4%  today 
to  6.2%  by  2010.  Portugal  aims  to 
increase  private  and  public  invest-
ment  in  research  and  technology  as 
a proportion of GDP (to 0.8% and 1% 
by 2010, respectively).

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An investment for growth and jobs

• 

Portugal has earmarked a signiﬁ cant 
amount  of  Structural  and  Cohesion 
Fund  contributions  for  the  renewed 
Lisbon  strategy. The  National  Strate-
gic Reference Framework (NSRF) indi-
cates that these categories of invest-
ment  would  correspond  to  60%  of 
the  available  funds  for  Convergence 
regions  and  75%  of  the  available 
funds  for  the  Regional  Competitive-
ness and Employment objective.

Operational programmes

The priorities of the National Strategic 
Reference  Framework  will  be  imple-
mented through 14 operational pro-
grammes (OPs):

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The  thematic  OP  Factors  of  Com-
petitiveness  (European  Regional 
Development  Fund)  will  oﬀ er 
incentives  for  modernising  and 
internationalising  business  enter-
prises, to promote innovation and 
reduce public costs.
The thematic OP Human Potential 
(European  Social  Fund)  will  pro-
mote  the  qualiﬁ cations  of  Portu-
guese citizens.
The  thematic  OP Territorial  Devel-
opment (ERDF and Cohesion Fund) 
will  ﬁ nance  projects  in  transport 
and the environment.
Regional OP North (ERDF).
Regional OP Centre (ERDF).
Regional OP Lisbon (ERDF).
Regional OP Alentejo (ERDF).
Regional OP Algarve (ERDF).

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

Regional OP Azores (ERDF).
Regional OP Azores (ESF).
Regional OP Madeira (ERDF).
Regional OP Madeira (ESF).
OP  for  NSRF  technical  assistance 
(ERDF).
OP  for  NSRF  technical  assistance 
(ESF).

The  ERDF  will  also  ﬁ nance  initiatives 
under the European Territorial Coop-
eration  objective  consisting  of  three 
strands 
for  cross-border,  transna-
tional and interregional cooperation. 
Under  this  objective,  Portugal  will 
be  taking  part  in  eight  operational 
programmes: 
• 
• 
• 

Two on cross-border cooperation. 
Four on transnational cooperation.
Two on interregional cooperation.

NSRF ﬁ nancial tables

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Portugal in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund
Convergence Objective

Total

OP Factors of Competitiveness
OP Human Potential
OP Territorial Development

Regional OP Norte
Regional OP Centro
Regional OP Alentejo
Regional OP Algarve
Regional OP Açores

Regional OP Açores
OP Technical Assistance
OP Technical Assistance

ERDF
ESF
ERDF + CF
ERDF
CF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF + Spec  All 
ERDF
Special allocation
ESF
ERDF
ESF
Total ERDF
Total CF
Total ESF
Total Funds

3 103 789 011
5 937 268 829
4 658 544 223
1 598 578 698
3 059 965 525
2 711 645 133
1 701 633 124
868 933 978
174 952 016
966 349 049
900 748 216
65 600 833
190 000 000
81 965 013
77 578 599
11 207 846 022
3 059 965 525
6 204 847 428
20 472 658 975

Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective

OP Human Potential
Regional OP Lisboa
Regional OP Madeira

Regional OP Madeira
OP Technical Assistance
OP Technical Assistance

European Territorial
Cooperation Objective
TOTAL NSRF

ESF
ERDF
ERDF + Spec  All 
ERDF
special allocation
ESF
ERDF
ESF
Total ERDF
Total ESF
Total Funds
FUND
ERDF
Total ERDF
Total CF
Total ESF
Total Funds

180 119 036
306 689 171
320 549 004
254 224 328
66 324 676
125 000 000
4 122 925
2 421 401
631 361 100
307 540 437
938 901 537
Total
98 997 543
11 938 204 665
3 059 965 525
6 512 387 865
21 510 558 055

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

2.2%

1.8%

17.6%

0.2%

0.1%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.1%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Reduction of additional costs hindering the 
outermost regions development 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

0.3%

4.6%

11.6%

0.4%

0.4%

30.2%

4.0%

3.1%

1.6%

18.7%

3.0%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

7.8%

Improving human capital 

73.4%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  5.9%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

7.2%

0.0%

2.5%

0.0%

0.5%

0.0%

2.6%

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Contact point in Portugal
Portuguese authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministério do Ambiente, do Ordenamento do 
Território e do Desenvolvimento Regional
(Ministry for Environment, SpatialLand Planning 
and Regional Development)
R. de „O Século“, 51
P-1200-433 Lisboa
Portugal
Tel:  +351 213 232 500
Fax: +351 213 232 531
Email: relacoes.publicas@sg.maotdr.gov.pt
http://www.maotdr.gov.pt/en/CmsPage.
> 
aspx?PageIndex=21

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.qren.pt

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Romania

Convergence Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Regions to receive investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Romania 
has  been  allocated  approximately 
€19.2 billion under the Convergence 
objective  and  €455  million  under 
the  European  Territorial  Coopera-
tion  objective.  Romania’s  contribu-
tion  (including  private  sources)  to 
complement  the  EU 
investments 
will  amount  to  at  least  €5.5  billion, 
bringing  the  total  investments  in 
structural  and  cohesion  policy  to 
approximately €25.2 billion over the 
next seven years.

All  regions  in  Romania  are  eligible 
under the Convergence objective.

Strategic objectives

As established in the National Strate-
gic  Reference  Framework  for  Roma-
nia,  the  EU  funding  will  be  invested 
in reducing the economic and social 
development  disparities  between 
Romania  and  the  other  EU  Member 
States,  by  generating  15-20%  addi-
tional GDP growth by 2015.

64

• 

• 

Five  thematic  priorities  have  been 
established to achieve this objective:
Development  of  basic 
infra-
• 
structure  in  line  with  European 
standards  -  improving  the  basic 
infrastructure  (roads,  rail,  water) 
in  Romania  is  a  prerequisite  for 
launching  economic  growth  and 
improving social cohesion.
Increasing the long-term compet-
itiveness  of  the  Romanian  econ-
omy - Romanian enterprises need 
to  move  beyond  reliance  on  low 
labour costs and take a major step 
into  the  21st  century  economy. 
The  resources  of  the  Structural 
Funds are available for developing 
better access to funds, commercial 
exploitation  of  research  results 
and full participation in the knowl-
edge-based economy.
Development  and  more  eﬃ  -
cient  use  of  Romania’s  human 
capital  -  while  unemployment  is 
relatively low in Romania, so is the 
labour force participation rate, and 
there  is  substantial  evidence  of 
skills  shortages  and  mismatches. 
Improvements in education, voca-
tional  training,  life-long  learning 
and  active  labour  market  policy 
will be combined to equip employ-
ers  and  employees  so  that  they 
can take full part in the economic 
transformation  that  has  already 
started and will be accelerated as a 
result of the Structural Funds.
Building  an  eﬀ ective  administra-
tive  capacity  -  whether  to  suc-
cessfully implement the Structural 
Funds  or  to  achieve  the  wider 
goals of Romania’s modernisation, 
sound and eﬀ ective administration 
is  essential. The  National  Strategy 
therefore includes a speciﬁ c opera-
tional programme focused on this 
area,  and  has  set  aside  resources 
in  each  of  the  operational  pro-
grammes  for  improving  eﬀ ective 
delivery.
Promoting  balanced  territorial 
development 
(territorial  prior-
ity) - fast-growing economies will, 
in the absence of any intervention, 

• 

• 

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Romania in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund
Community Contribution
 ESF 
 ESF 
 ERDF 
 ERDF 
 ERDF 
 CF 
 ERDF+CF 
 ERDF 
 CF 
 ERDF+CF 
 ERDF 
 ERDF 
 CF 
 ESF 
 All funds 

Human Resources Development 
Administrative Capacity Development 
Regional 
Increase of Economic Competitiveness 
Transport 
Transport 
Transport 
Environment 
Environment 
Environment 
Technical Assistance 
Total 
Total 
Total 
Total NSRF 2007-13 

Total

 3 476 144 996 
 208 002 622 
 3 726 021 762 
 2 554 222 109 
 1 289 332 210 
 3 276 605 085 
 4 565 937 295 
 1 236 652 195 
 3 275 817 943 
 4 512 470 138 
 170 237 790 
 7 739 813 871 
 6 552 423 028 
 3 684 147 618 
 17 976 384 517 

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

1.3%

3.9%

30.2%

0.2%

2.9%

3.6%

12.0%

3.6%

2.3%

34.3%

5.8%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  19.5%

Improving human capital 

31.2%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  11.8%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

25.5%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

3.0%

5.4%

3.6%

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

distribute  growth  unevenly,  lead-
ing to increased divergence within 
the country, congestion costs and 
other  ineﬃ  ciencies.  The  purpose 
of the territorial priority is to coun-
ter these centrifugal eﬀ ects and to 
ensure that all regions and territo-
ries  in  Romania  reap  the  beneﬁ ts 
of European Union membership.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

A  number  of  key  indicators  and  tar-
gets have been identiﬁ ed to illustrate 
the  impact  of  the  National  Strategy 
and the Community contribution. Iso-
lating the precise impact of the Struc-
tural  Funds  is  diﬃ  cult  in  a  situation 
such  as  this  where  the  country  and 
economy  are  already  in  rapid  transi-
tion,  however  macroeconomic  and 
other  impact  studies  have  produced 
relevant  indicators.  These  indicators 
are  listed  below  and  will  be  moni-
tored  and  veriﬁ ed  over  the  lifetime 
of the interventions and also after all 
the money has been spent:
• 

GDP  –  increase  by  15-20%  more 
than  would  otherwise  have  been 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the case.
Gross  Capital  Formation  –  growth 
of  28%  more  than  the  baseline 
scenario.
GDP  per  employee  –  increase  of 
5.5% annually.
Employment  in  the  trade  sector  – 
increase of 23%.
Jobs  created  and  maintained  –  at 
least 150 000-200 000.

identiﬁ ed 

In  addition,  speciﬁ c  indicators  have 
for  each  of  the 
been 
thematic  priorities, 
including  the 
following:
• 

Basic  infrastructure  –  1  400  km  of 
new  or  upgraded  roads;  increase 
from  52%  to  70%  the  population 
linked  to  water  services;  40-50% 
reduction in primary energy inten-
sity compared with 2001.
Competitiveness 
economy 
–  R&D  expenditure  to  rise  from 
0.41% of GDP to 2.0%; broadband 
penetration to increase from 3.5% 
to 40% of the population.
Human capital – employment rate 
to  increase  from  57.4%  to  64%  of 
the  population  (15-64);  activity 
rate  to  rise  from  62.4%  to  68.5%; 

of 

• 

• 

• 

proportion  of  the  age-group  with 
upper secondary education to rise 
from 70.5% to 80%.
Administrative  capacity  –  more 
trust 
in  public  administration, 
increasing  to  33%  (central)  and 
60% (local) of the public.

An investment for growth and jobs

Romania  has  adopted  a  strategy 
based  ﬁ rmly  on  the  Lisbon  priorities 
of sustainable growth and jobs. How-
ever,  the  weaknesses  in  basic  infra-
structure  are  so  great  that  only  55% 
of expenditure will be earmarked for 
Lisbon-related expenditure.

Operational programmes

The priorities of the National Strategic 
Reference  Framework  will  be  imple-
mented  through  seven  operational 
programmes (OPs): 
• 

Three  OPs  will  receive  funding 
from the European Regional Devel-
opment Fund (ERDF): the Regional 
OP, the Increase in Economic Com-
petitiveness  OP  and  the Technical 
Assistance OP. 

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• 

• 

Two  OPs  will  be  funded  by  the 
European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  and 
will  focus  on  human  resources 
development  and  the  improve-
ment  of  administrative  capacity, 
which is an important prerequisite 
for  successful  implementation  of 
the Structural Funds.
Two  infrastructure-oriented  pro-
grammes, the Environment OP and 
the Transport OP, will be funded by 
both  the  ERDF  and  the  Cohesion 
Fund (CF).

The  ERDF  will  also  ﬁ nance  initiatives 
under the European Territorial Coop-
eration  objective  consisting  of  three 
strands for cross-border, transnational 
and interregional cooperation. Under 
this  objective,  Romania  will  be  tak-
ing  part  in  cross-border  cooperation 
programmes  with  Hungary  and  Bul-
garia,  the  transnational  cooperation 
programme for the Black Sea and two 
enlargement  and  neighbourhood 
programmes.

Contact point in Romania
Romanian authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministry of Economy and Finance - Authority for 
the Coordination of Structural Instruments
44 Mircea Vodă Blvd.
Sector 3, Bucharest
Romania
Tel:  +40 21 302 52 00
Fax: +40 21 302 52 64
> 

www.mﬁ nante.ro/engl

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

http://fonduriue.mﬁ nante.ro/wps/portal

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Slovenia

Convergence Objective 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For the 2007-13 period, Slovenia has 
been allocated €4.101 billion (current 
prices)  of  Structural  Fund  and  Cohe-
sion  Fund  ﬁ nancing  under  the  Con-
vergence  objective.  To  complement 
the  EU  investment,  Slovenia’s  overall 
annual  contribution  is  expected  to 
reach €957 million.

Regions to receive investment

For the 2007-13 period, all of Slovenia 
is  eligible  under  the  Convergence 
objective. The situation has therefore 
not changed in relation to the previ-
ous 2004-06 programming period.

Strategic objectives

The  general  objectives  of  the  Slov-
enian  National  Strategic  Reference 

Framework (NRSF) are to improve the 
welfare  of  Slovenian  citizens  by  pro-
moting  economic  growth,  creating 
jobs,  strengthening  human  capital 
and ensuring balanced and harmoni-
ous development, notably at regional 
level.

To  achieve  these  objectives,  the 
Slovenian NRSF is built on a number 
of  strategic  thematic  and  territorial 
priorities:
• 

and 

Promotion  of  entrepreneurship, 
innovation 
technological 
development;
in  the  quality  of 
Improvement 
the  education  system,  training 
and  research  and  development 
activities;
Improved labour market ﬂ exibility 
along  with  guaranteed  employ-
ment  security,  notably  through 
creating jobs and promoting social 

• 

• 

• 

• 

inclusion;
Ensuring  conditions  for  growth 
by providing sustainable mobility, 
improving the quality of the envi-
ronment  and  providing  appropri-
ate infrastructure;
Promotion  of  balanced  regional 
development.

Emphasis will also be given to improv-
ing  institutional  and  administrative 
capacity, notably in the public sector, 
as this is a prerequisite for accelerat-
ing economic growth in Slovenia.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

Slovenia  has  set  a  number  of  target 
indicators  to  measure  the  impact  of 
the  Cohesion  policy  in  the  2007-13 
period. These  include  increasing  the 
portion  of 
innovative  companies 
from the current 21% ﬁ gure to 44% by 
2013, contributing directly (0.75%) to 
the annual GDP increase and increas-
ing the employment rate by 1.7%.

An investment for growth and jobs

Slovenia  is  earmarking  a  signiﬁ cant 
amount of Structural Fund and Cohe-
sion  Fund  money  for  Lisbon-related 
investments. The NSRF data indicates 
that  these  categories  of  investment 
should exceed 65% of the total funds 
available. 

Operational programmes

The priorities of the National Strategic 
Reference  Framework  will  be  imple-
mented  through  three  operational 
programmes.  The  ﬁ rst,  the  opera-
tional  programme  for  Strengthening 
Regional  Development  Potentials 
will  receive  funding  from  the  Euro-
pean  Regional  Development  Fund 
(ERDF). The second, designated as the 
operational  programme  for  Human 
Resources  Development,  will  be 
funded by the European Social Fund 
(ESF).  Finally,  the  third  programme, 
the operational programme for Envi-

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ronmental  and  Transport  Infrastruc-
ture  Development,  will  be  funded 
by  both  the  ERDF  and  the  Cohesion 
Fund (CF).

The  ERDF  will  also  ﬁ nance  initiatives 
under the European Territorial Coop-
eration  objective  consisting  of  three 
strands for cross-border, transnational 
and interregional cooperation. Under 

this objective, Slovenia will be taking 
part  in  13  operational  programmes: 
ﬁ ve on cross-border cooperation, four 
on  transnational  cooperation  and 
four on interregional cooperation.

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Slovenia in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund
Community Contribution

Total

Human Resources 
Development 
Strengthening Regional 
Development Potentials 
Environmental and Transport 
Infrastructure Development 
Environmental and Transport 
Infrastructure Development 
Environmental and Transport 
Infrastructure Development 
Total 
Total 
Total 
Total NSRF 2007-13 

ESF 

755 699 370

ERDF 

1 709 749 522

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

ERDF 

224 029 886

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

CF 

1 411 569 858

Investment in social infrastructure 

Information society 

ERDF + CF 

1 635 599 744

ERDF 
CF 
ESF 

1 933 779 408
1 411 569 858
755 699 370
All funds  4 101 048 636

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

2.5%

4.8%

23.0%

3.2%

2.9%

28.1%

1.7%

2.4%

29.5%

1.9%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  28.3%

Improving human capital 

42.1%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  5.5%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

10.2%

6.3%

1.8%

2.1%

3.7%

Contact point in Slovenia
Slovene authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

Government Oﬃ  ce for Local Self-government 
and Regional Policy
Kotnikova 28
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Tel:  +386 1 308 31 78 
Fax: +386 1 478 36 19
Email: gp.svlr@gov.si
www.svlr.gov.si/en/
> 

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.svlr.gov.si/index.php?id=719&no_cache=1

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Slovakia

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Strategic objectives

For  the  2007-13  period,  the  Slovak 
Republic has been allocated €11.6 bil-
lion  in  total,  €10.9  billion  under  the 
Convergence  objective,  €0.5  billion 
under  the  Regional  Competitive-
ness and Employment objective, and 
€0.2  billion  under  the  European Ter-
ritorial Cooperation objective. 

Regions to receive investment

The regions of Western Slovakia, Central 
Slovakia and Eastern Slovakia fall under 
the  Convergence  objective,  while  the 
Bratislavan  region  is  the  only  region  to 
fall under the Regional Competitiveness 
and Employment objective.

Between  2007  and  2013,  4.78  million 
people (88.8% of the total) will live in 
Convergence  regions.  Between  2000 
and  2006,  approximately  the  same 
percentage of the population lived in 
regions supported under Objective 1.

The  overall  objective  of  Slovakia,  as 
set  out  in  the  Slovak  National  Strate-
gic  Reference  Framework  (NSRF)  for 
2007-13,  is  to  “signiﬁ cantly  increase 
the competitiveness and performance 
of  regions,  the  Slovak  economy  and 
employment  by  2013,  while  respect-
ing  the  principles  of  sustainable 
development”. The EU funding will be 
invested in three strategic priorities:

and 

regional 

Infrastructure 
accessibility: 
infrastructure 
-  edu-
regional 
• 
cational 
infrastructure  with  an 
emphasis on the knowledge econ-
omy; social care facilities; archiving 
institutions  (libraries);  support  for 
the  competitiveness  and  innova-
tive  capacity  of  regions  –  urban 
renewal and regional roads;
environmental  infrastructure  -  pro-
tection and rational use of water and 
anti-ﬂ ood  protection;  protection  of 

• 

air including support for renewable 
energy  resources;  waste  manage-
ment;  protection  and  regeneration 
of  nature and landscape;
transport  infrastructure  -  highway 
construction;  modernisation  of 
railways  in  Trans-European  Net-
works  (TEN);  construction  of  pub-
intermodal  terminals,  public 
lic 
railway transport;
modernisation  of 
infrastructure.

the  health 

• 

• 

Innovation, information society and 
knowledge economy: 
• 

information  society  -  develop-
ment  of  electronic  services,  con-
tent  and  infrastructure  for  public 
administration;
research and development;
university infrastructure;
support  for  competitiveness  of 
companies  and  services  through 
innovation.

• 
• 
• 

Human resources and education - the 
aim  being  to  increase  employment, 
achieve  a  higher  quality  labour  force 
reﬂ ecting the needs of the knowledge 
economy, and increase social inclusion 
of disadvantaged groups:
modern education;
• 
fostering  growth  in  employment 
• 
and social inclusion.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

A  preliminary  evaluation  indicates 
that  implementation  of  the  Slovak 
NSRF could lead to attaining an eco-
nomic level of 60% of the EU-15, with 
the employment rate also potentially 
growing to 63.4% compared to 57.7% 
in  2005.  The  energy  intensity  of  the 
economy is expected to reduce from 
854 kg oil equivalent /€1 000 to 663 
kg oil equivalent /€1 000.

An investment for growth and jobs

The Slovak Republic’s NSRF increases 
the  share  of  investment  earmarked 
for  the  Lisbon  Strategy  for  jobs  and 

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growth in comparison to the 2000-06 
programming period.

Operational programmes

The  Slovak  Republic’s  strategic  plan-
ning  for  the  2007-13  period  will  be 
implemented  through  10  opera-
tional programmes:
• 

ERDF –  European Regional Devel-
opment  Fund 
(7  operational 
programmes):

– 

– 

– 

– 

1 regional operational programme 
(Convergence objective)
5 sectoral operational programmes 
(Convergence objective)
1  operational  programme  Brati-
slava  (Regional  Competitiveness 
and Employment objective)
1 
‘multi-objective’  operational 
programme  (Convergence  and 
Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment objectives).

• 

ESF  – 

  European  Social  Fund 

(3 operational programmes):

– 

2  multi-objective  operational 
programmes  (Convergence  and 
Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment objectives).

The  NSRF  does  not  cover  the  opera-
tional  programmes  within  the  Euro-
pean Territorial Cooperation objective.

Operational Programme
Convergence Objective

NSRF Financial Table
Fund
Community Contribution

Total

OP Information Society

OP Environment

Regional Operational Programme

OP Transport

OP Health
OP Competitiveness
OP Technical Assistance
OP Research and Development
ESF
OP Education
OP Employment and Social Inclusion
Total ERDF
Total ESF
Total ERDF + ESF
Cohesion Fund
Total Convergence Objective

ERDF

CF
ERDF
ERDF

CF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

ESF
ESF

993 095 405
1 800 000 000
1 569 243 065
230 756 935
1 445 000 000
3 206 904 595
2 329 495 498
877 409 097
250 000 000
772 000 000
97 601 421
883 000 000

600 000 000
864 000 000
5 548 862 858
1 464 000 000
7 012 862 858
3 898 738 563
10 911 601 421

Competitiveness and Employment Objective

OP Bratislava Region
OP Research and Development
OP Education
OP Employment and Social Inclusion
Total Competitiveness Objective
Total ERDF
Total ESF
Total NSRF 2007-13

ERDF
ERDF
ESF
ESF

87 000 000
326 415 373
17 801 578
17 801 578
449 018 529
413 415 373
35 603 156
11 360 619 950

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Slovakia in its draft operational programmes

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

2.3%

1.7%

18.9%

0.2%

11.8%

11.1%

12.2%

0.1%

3.4%

1.2%

34.7%

2.4%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  34.9%

Improving human capital 

36.5%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  10.8%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

10.3%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

1.2%

2.8%

3.5%

Contact point in Slovakia
Slovak Republic authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

Ministry of Construction and Regional Development
Section of Regions’ Development Strategy
Prievozská 2/B
825 25 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Tel:  +421 2 58 31 73 90
Fax: +421 2 58 31 75 77
> 

www.strukturalnefondy.sk

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.strukturalnefondy.sk/Default.aspx?CatId=72

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Finland

Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007-13

Strategic objectives

As  laid  down  in  the  Finnish  National 
Strategic 
Framework 
Reference 
(NSRF),  the  EU  funding  for  mainland 
Finland will be invested in four strate-
gic objectives:
• 

  -  notably  to 
Promoting  business
develop  business  productivity, 
create  more  jobs  and  safeguard 
existing jobs. 
Promoting  innovation,  network-
ing and strengthened knowledge 
structures  -  to  activate  an  expert 
and advisory network with strong 
links  to  national  development 
projects of enterprises, universities, 
research  institutes  and  regional 
businesses.
Skills,  labour,  employment  and 
entrepreneurship  -  to 
improve 
the ability of work organisations to 
anticipate and manage restructur-
ing  caused  by  globalisation,  tech-
nological  development  and  the 
ageing population.
Improving 
regional  accessibil-
ity  and  the  environment  -  long 
distances,  the  sparse  population, 
a  vulnerable  environment  and 
a  cold  climate  pose  challenges 
when  it  comes  to  increasing  the 
competitiveness  of  enterprises 
and  creating  comfortable  living 
environments. 

• 

• 

• 

The autonomous status of the Åland 
Islands  means  that  they  have  their 
own two strategic priorities:
• 
• 

Entrepreneurship and innovation
Skills and employment

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

To measure the impact of the invest-
ment,  the  Finnish  regions  will  set 
target indicators for their operational 
programmes. The Regional Funds will 
contribute  to  implementation  of  the 
Lisbon  Agenda  for  jobs  and  growth 
with  the  aim  of  increasing  competi-
tiveness, employment and well-being 
in the Finnish regions.

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

Regions to receive investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Finland  has 
been  allocated  €1.6  billion  under 
the  Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment  objective.  To  comple-
ment  the  EU  investment  under  the 
National  Strategic  Reference  Frame-
work,  Finland’s  contribution  will 
amount to at least €1.9 billion at cur-
rent prices. 

• 
• 

Phasing-in: Eastern Finland.
Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment  objective:  Åland 
Islands, Southern Finland, Western 
Finland and Northern Finland.

Between 2007 and 2013, none of the 
population  will  be  living  under  the 
Convergence  objective  or  Statistical 
Phasing-out. Between 2000 and 2006, 
19.9% of the Finnish population lived 
in regions supported by Objective 1.

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The  authorities  expect  the  following 
impact:
• 

creation  of  new  businesses  and 
jobs;
increased employment;
the 
development  of 
economy;
increased  business  productivity, 
competitiveness and exports;
higher levels of education;
enhanced 
innovation.

research 

regional 

• 
• 

• 

• 
• 

and 

An investment for growth and jobs

Operational programmes

The strategic priorities of the Finnish 
NSRF  will  be  implemented  through 
seven operational programmes: ﬁ ve 
regional programmes for Eastern Fin-
land  (Phasing-in),  Northern  Finland, 
Western  Finland,  Southern  Finland 
and the Åland Islands co-ﬁ nanced by 
the European Regional Development 
Fund, and two thematic programmes 
for  mainland  Finland  and  the  Åland 
Islands  co-ﬁ nanced  by  the  European 
Social Fund. 

The Finnish NSRF does not cover the 
operational  programmes  under  the 
European  Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.

The initial indicative breakdown esti-
mate  of  the  total  Community  assist-
ance  available  through  the  Funds 
is  €977  million  from  the  European 
Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF) 
and  €619  million  from  the  European 
Social Fund (ESF).

The  NSRF  strategy  will  strongly  sup-
port  the  Lisbon  Strategy  for  jobs 
and growth, with at least 88% of the 
funds  in  the  Regional  Competitive-
ness  and  Employment  objective 
programmes  earmarked  for  Lisbon 
related activities.

Eastern and Northern Finland regions 
will  beneﬁ t  from  a  special  allocation 
from  the  European  Regional  Devel-
opment  Fund  given  the  very  sparse 
population.  This amounts to €35 per 
inhabitant per year, totalling €359 mil-
lion over the programming period. 

Operational Programme

NSRF Financial Table
Fund
Community Contribution
ESF
ESF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ESF
All Funds

Mainland Finland 
Operational programme 
Eastern Finland
Northern Finland
Western Finland
Southern Finland
Operational programme 
Total
Total
Total NSRF2007-13

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Finland in its draft operational programmes

Total

615 438 512
3 125 552
365 564 309
311 273 152
159 375 850
138 063 117
3 125 552
977 401 980
618 564 064
1 595 966 044

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

3.2%

4.6%

3.4%

0.3%

0.8%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.0%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

0.3%

14.7%

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

0.1%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

59.2%

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

0.3%

4.0%

5.2%

3.5%

0.2%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  41.2%

Improving human capital 

14.4%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  13.6%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Technical assistance 

26.8%

4.0%

The National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) does not include programmes relating to the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

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Contact points in Finland
Finnish authorities with overall responsability for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

For mainland Finland - European Regional 
Development Fund (ERDF)
Ministry of the Interior, Department 
for Development of Regions and Public 
Administration 
PO Box 26
FI-00023 Government
Finland
Tel:  +358-9-16001
Fax: +358-9-160 44635

For mainland Finland - European Social Fund (ESF)
Ministry of Labour, Structural Fund Team
PO Box 34
FI-00023 Government
Finland
Tel:  +358-10-60 4001
Fax: +358-10-60 48990

For the Åland Islands - ERDF and ESF
Regional Government of Åland, Department of 
Trade and Industry
Självstyrelsegården, Pb 1060
AX-22111 Mariehamn
Åland
Tel:  +358-18-25 000
Fax: +358-18-19155

Websites:
> 

www.intermin.ﬁ /intermin/home.nsf/pages/
index_eng
www.mol.ﬁ /mol/en/index.jsp
www.regeringen.ax

> 
> 

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
www.intermin.ﬁ /intermin/home.nsf
> 

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Sweden

Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007-13

plans  whose  geography  matches 
those of the ERDF programmes.

Strategic objectives

As  laid  down  in  the  Swedish  NSRF, 
the  Regional  Competitiveness  and 
Employment  programmes  should 
focus  on  four  thematic  priorities, 
with  a  territorial  dimension  (special 
emphasis  on  urban  areas  and  the 
needs  of  the  sparsely  populated 
areas in the north of the country):
• 

Innovative  environments  and 
entrepreneurship  -  the  purpose 
is  to  develop  new  and  attractive 
products, create a culture of entre-
preneurship and improve access to 
capital risk.
Skills supply and increased labour 
supply - given that, more than one 
million  people  of  working  age  in 
Sweden  ﬁ nd  themselves  outside 
the labour market or working less 
than they would like to. 
  -  Sweden  needs  to 
Accessibility
expand  its  national  road  and  rail-
way  networks  (European  acces-
sibility  is  naturally  low  for  this 
peripheral country) and to develop 
the information society. 
Strategic  cross-border  coop-
eration  -  for  instance,  a  special 
programme  (part  of  INTERREG) 
will  give  support  to  indigenous 
people  in  Sweden,  Norway  and 
Finland to help them retain their 
culture  and  work  with  reindeer 
husbandry.

• 

• 

• 

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

The investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  Sweden 
has  been  allocated  €1.9  billion  in 
total, €1.6 billion under the Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective,  and  €265  million  under 
the  European Territorial  Cooperation 
objective.  To  complement  the  EU 
investment  under  the  National  Stra-
tegic  Reference  Framework  (NSRF), 
Sweden’s  contribution  will  be  €1.9 
billion (including Territorial Coopera-

tion), bringing the total regional sup-
port to €3.8 billion over 7 years.

Regions to receive investment

The  entire  country,  i.e.  all  nine  mil-
lion  inhabitants,  will  be  covered  by 
the  new  regional  fund  programmes. 
There  are  eight  European  Regional 
(ERDF)  pro-
Development  Fund 
grammes  and  one  European  Social 
Fund  (ESF)  programme;  the  latter 
being subdivided into eight regional 

74

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

A  preliminary  assessment  indicates 
that implementation of the Swedish 
NSRF  could,  through  the  respective 
lead  to 
operational  programmes, 
the  creation  of  at  least  33 800  new 
jobs  and  12 800  new  enterprises. 
The  NSRF  –  with  its  clear  focus  on 
innovation  and 
entrepreneurship, 
Research  and  Development  (R&D) 
–  is  also  expected  to  create  viable 
structures  for  growth  and  innova-

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tion. Furthermore, a particular focus 
will  be  placed  on  skills  supply  and 
increased  labour  supply  to  ensure 
adequate  skills  in  enterprises,  bet-
ter integration of people in working 
life  and  access  for  young  people  to 
the  labour  market.  It  is  estimated 
that  more  than  300 000  people  will 
take  part 
in  measures  designed 
to  increase  their  adaptability  and 
employability.

An investment for growth and jobs

The  NSRF 
increases  the  share  of 
investment earmarked for the Lisbon 
Strategy for jobs and growth to 75% 
from  73%  in  the  2000-06  program-
ming period.

Operational programmes

Sweden’s  strategic  planning  for  the 
2007-13 period will be implemented 
through  eight  operational  pro-

grammes  and  one  national  Social 
Fund  programme.  Under  the  Euro-
pean  Territorial  Cooperation  objec-
tive,  Sweden  will  take  part  in  nine 
Territorial  Cooperation  programmes, 
which will support projects involving 
more than one country. The initial esti-
mated breakdown among the Funds 
of  the  total  Community  assistance 
available  will  be  €934.5  million  from 
the European Regional Development 
Fund (ERDF) and €691.5 million from 
the European Social Fund (ESF).

NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by Sweden in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Community Contribution

European Regional Development 
Fund /Cohesion Fund 2007-13

Competitiveness and 
Employment Objective
Skåne-Blekinge
Småland och Öarna
Västsverige
Östra Mellansverige
Stockholm
Norra Mellansverige
Mellersta Norrland
Övre Norrland

ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF
ERDF

70 690 065
67 442 370
63 565 567
81 028 706
37 571 270
194 987 837
176 617 833
242 637 082

ESF

National programme for Regional 
Competitiveness and Employment (ESF)
Total NSRF 2007 - 13
Total ERDF
Total ESF

ESF

691 551 158

All funds

1 626 091 888
934 540 730
691 551 158

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial 
Cooperation objective.

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Information society 

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

2.4%

6.6%

1.5%

11.0%

63.8%

4.0%

2.5%

6.8%

1.5%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  63.0%

Improving human capital 

4.2%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  3.4%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Technical assistance 

25.4%

4.0%

Contact points in Sweden
Swedish authorities with overall responsibility for Cohesion policy 2007-13: 

ERDF: Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications
Jakobsgatan 26, 
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel:  +46-8-405 10 00
> 
> 

www.regeringen.se/sb/d/1470
www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2067

ESF: Ministry of Employment
Jakobsgatan 26, 
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel:  +46-8-405 10 00
> 

www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/8281

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 
> 

www.regeringen.se/sb/d/2498 
http://www.nutek.se/sb/d/1008

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United Kingdom

Convergence and Competitiveness Objectives 2007-13

tistical  Phasing-in  and  Phasing-out 
regions.  90.4%  of  the  UK  population 
will  be 
in  Competitiveness 
regions. 

living 

Strategic objectives

The general objectives of the UK NSRF 
are  to  support  the  UK  Government’s 
aim  to  increase  the  rate  of  sustain-
able growth, improve prosperity and 
achieve  a  better  quality  of  life,  with 
economic and employment opportu-
nities for all. 

To  address  these  objectives,  the  UK 
NSRF  sets  out  three  overarching 
themes and four high level principles 
to be applied to all UK Structural Fund 
programmes:

Themes
• 

  -  pro-
Enterprise  and  Innovation
moting research, knowledge trans-
fer  and  commercialisation  of  new 
products  and  services,  encourag-
ing entrepreneurship and support-
ing  a  thriving  Small  and  Medium-
sized  Enterprise  (SME)  sector.  For 
in  the  South-West  of 
instance, 
England  (under  the  Convergence 
objective), 
the  authorities  will 
build  on  the  Combined  Universi-
ties of Cornwall (CUC) project and 
the experience of the “knowledge 
spa” centres which foster close ties 
between  the  academic  and  busi-
ness sectors.
 - building 
Skills and Employment
a skilled and adaptable workforce, 
tackling disadvantage in the work-
place and supporting employment 
opportunities for all. 

targets 

The UK has already exceeded the three 
Lisbon  employment 
(70% 
overall employment, 50% older worker 
employment rate, 60% female employ-
ment rate). However, the Government’s 
ambition  is  to  reach  an  employment 
rate of 80% of the working-age popu-
lation in the long-term. To achieve this, 
a  further  2.3  million  people  would 
require assistance in securing work.

© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Convergence Regions

Boundaries

Phasing-out Regions

Phasing-in Regions

Competitiveness 
and Employment Regions

National

Nuts 2

• 

The investment

Regions to receive investment

For  the  2007-13  period,  the  UK  has 
been  allocated  €10.6  billion  in  total: 
€2.9  billion  under  the  Convergence 
objective, €7 billion under the Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
objective,  and  €722  million  under  the 
European Territorial Cooperation objec-
tive. To complement the EU investment 
under the National Strategic Reference 
Framework (NSRF), the UK contribution 
would amount to at least €5.2 billion at 
current prices. 

• 

• 

• 

Convergence objective: West Wales 
and  the Valleys,  Cornwall  and  the 
Isles of Scilly.
Statistical  Phasing-out:  Highlands 
and Islands.
Statistical  Phasing-in:  South  York-
shire and Merseyside.

Between  2007  and  2013,  2.4  million 
people (4.6% of the total) will be liv-
ing  in  Convergence  regions,  with  3 
million (5% of the total) living in Sta-

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• 

Environmental  and  Community 
Sustainability - encouraging inno-
vation  to  support  sustainability, 
ensuring sustainable development, 
production  and  consumption,  and 
promoting  social  and  economic 
cohesion in local economies, includ-
ing in urban and rural areas. 

Principles
• 

  - 
Focusing  on  market  failures
transversal  to  the  above  themes, 
regional  policy  interventions  will 
be made where free markets have 
genuinely failed. 
Environmental sustainability and 
equality - integrated strategies to 
be  included  for  addressing  envi-
ronmental  concerns  and  respect-
ing  the  principles  of  sustainable 
development,  to  take  account  of 
the  principles  of  gender  equality, 
equal  opportunities  and  non-dis-
crimination and to incorporate the 
needs of local communities.
 - to ensure 
A working partnership
that eﬀ ective partnership arrange-
ments  are  built  into  the  new  pro-
grammes, 
local 
further 
authorities,  higher  and 

including  with 

• 

• 

• 

education  sectors,  the  voluntary 
and community sector and the pri-
vate sector.
Structural  Funds  and  the  Lisbon 
Agenda  -  to  ensure  that  60%  of 
all expenditure under the Conver-
gence  objective  and  75%  of  the 
expenditure  under  the  Competi-
tiveness  and  Employment  objec-
tive support the Lisbon Agenda.

The expected impact of the new 
Cohesion Policy

UK authorities are focused on improv-
ing four main sectors:
• 
• 

Skills.
Research and Development (R&D) 
– especially in the private sector.
Innovation.
Entrepreneurship.

• 
• 

An investment for growth and jobs

The  UK  NSRF  increases  the  share  of 
investment  earmarked  for  the  Lis-
bon  Strategy  for  jobs  and  growth 
(73%  under  Convergence  and  83.4% 
under Regional Competitiveness and 
Employment).

Operational programmes

The  UK’s  strategic  planning  for  the 
2007-13 period endeavours to trans-
late the broad priorities contained in 
the  NSRF  into  22  operational  pro-
grammes.  These  include  three  Con-
vergence  and  two  Phasing-out  pro-
grammes, together with 16 Regional 
Competitiveness  and  Employment 
programmes  and  one  programme 
under  both  the  Convergence  and 
Regional 
and 
Employment  objectives.  The  initial 
indicative  breakdown  among  the 
funds of the total Community assist-
ance available will be €5.4 billion from 
the European Regional Development 
Fund (ERDF) and €4.5 billion from the 
European Social Fund (ESF).

Competitiveness 

Operational  programmes  covering 
more  than  one  of  the  three  objec-
tives are not permitted except where 
otherwise agreed by the Commission 
and  the  Member  State.  Such  is  the 
case with the “England and Gibraltar 
ESF  Convergence,  Competitiveness 
and Employment Programme”, which 
covers two of the objectives.

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NSRF Financial Table

Breakdown by theme as proposed by the United Kingdom in its draft operational programmes

Operational Programme

Fund

Total

Convergence Objective 

Community Contribution

Highlands and Islands of Scotland 

West Wales and the Valleys 

England and Gibraltar

Highlands and Islands of Scotland

West Wales and the Valleys 

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Total

Total

ESF

ESF

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ESF

52 150 195

833 585 460

196 433 940

121 862 392

1 250 378 189

458 056 615

1 830 297 196

1 082 169 595

Total NSRF 2007-13

All Funds

2 912 466 791

Competitiveness and Employment Objective

East Wales 

Lowlands and Uplands of Scotland 

Northern Ireland

England and Gibraltar 

Lowlands and Uplands of Scotland

South East England 

Northern Ireland 

East of England 

North East England 

London England 

West Midlands England

North West England

Yorkshire and Humberside England

East Midlands England

South West England

East Wales 

Gibraltar

Total

Total

ESF

ESF

ESF

ESF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

ERDF

63 597 452

269 920 942

165 777 300

2 893 452 439

375 957 844

23 706 375

306 833 439

110 994 719

375 698 920

181 889 213

399 899 930

755 754 611

583 580 959

268 495 983

124 658 086

72 451 721

5 800 739

ERDF

ESF

3 585 722 539

3 392 748 133

European Regional Development 
Fund 2007-13

Culture 

Energy 

Environmental protection and risk prevention 

Improving access to employment and sustainability 

Improving human capital 

0.7%

5.1%

6.6%

1.7%

0.5%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  0.5%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Information society 

Investment in social infrastructure 

Mobilisation for reforms in the ﬁ elds of employment 
and inclusion 

0.7%

7.4%

0.7%

0.0%

Research and technological development (R&TD), 
innovation and entrepreneurship 

58.0%

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

Tourism 

Transport 

Urban and rural regeneration 

0.0%

3.1%

2.2%

5.0%

7.7%

European Social Fund 2007-13

Improving access to employment and sustainability  33.4%

Improving human capital 

8.3%

Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons  24.2%

Increasing the adaptability of workers and ﬁ rms, 
enterprises and entrepreneurs 

Strengthening institutional capacity at national, 
regional and local level 

Technical assistance 

30.0%

0.7%

3.3%

Total NSRF 2007-13

All Funds

6 978 470 672

NB: The tables do not include the ﬁ gures for the European Territorial Cooperation objective.

Contact point in the United Kingdom
UK authority with overall responsibility for 
Cohesion policy 2007-13:

BERR, Department for Business, Enterprise and 
Regulatory Reform
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H OET
United Kingdom
Tel:  +44 207 215 5000
Fax: +44 207 215 0105
www.berr.gov.uk
> 

The full text of the NSRF is available at:
> 

www.berr.gov.uk/consultations/page28796.html 

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European Commission

Cohesion Policy 2007-13
National Strategic Reference Frameworks

Luxembourg: Oﬃ  ce for Oﬃ  cial Publications of the European Communities

2007 — 78 pp. — 21.0 x 29.7 cm

ISBN 978-92-79-07465-3

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K
N
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8
1
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0
7
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1
0
4
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E
N
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C

Cohesion Policy 2007-13
National Strategic 
Reference Frameworks

This  brochure  contains  summaries  of  the  National  Strategic  Reference  Frameworks 
(NSRF) of all 27 EU Member States. 

NSRF provide the overall vision for the use of the Structural Funds available to each 
Member State. They were prepared by each Member State in close cooperation with 
the European Commission. The strategy serves as a benchmark for the programming 
and implementation of the EU’s Regional Policy. 

This brochure provides an overview of the national investment priorities, beneﬁ ciary 
regions, ﬁ nancial allocations and expected impacts of the operational programmes in 
each Member State. 

ISBN 978-92-79-07465-3

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