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Brussels, 26 July 2001

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These programmes provide for the allocation of EUR 610 million of Community funding, which will make it possible to mobilise approximately EUR 1 990 million of investment from the public and private sector. All the Objective 2 programmes in Italy have now been the subject of a decision in principle. The final adoption by the Commission of all the programmes is scheduled for August/September next. It will then be for the Italian managing authorities to adopt the programming complements indicating the selection criteria which will make it possible to define the projects eligible for financing and to forward them to the Commission. Implementation on the ground will then be able to start. An advance of 7% of the Community funds will be transferred for this purpose. In Italy, the Objective 2 programmes concern the regions of the centre-north of the country and cover a population of 7.402 million, to which can be added 5.904 million receiving transitional support.

*HQHUDOFRQWH[W The Structural Funds have EUR 195 billion for the Member States in 2000-06. They finance regional development programmes which are the fruit of joint work by the national, regional and local authorities, the economic and social partners and the other relevant bodies. The aid from the Structural Funds concentrates primarily on three top priorities: - Objective 1: Development and structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind (70% of the appropriations); - Objective 2: Economic and social conversion of areas facing structural difficulties (11.5% of the appropriations); - Objective 3: Adaptation and modernisation of policies and systems of education, training and employment (12.3% of the appropriations).

 Objective 2: "supporting the economic and social conversion of areas facing structural difficulties" More specifically, the Objective 1 funds concern about fifty regions and 22% of the European population. A budget of EUR 135.9 billion for 2000-06 makes it possible to endow the poorest regions of the Union (whose GDP is less than 75% of the Community GDP) with the basic equipment which they still lack (transport, water supply, energy, waste processing, telecommunications, health, education, etc) and to encourage investments in companies there and the revitalisation of an often weak productive fabric. The funds for Objective 1 are generally allocated as follows: a Community Support Framework (CSF) describes the socio-economic context of the country or of the regions concerned, presents development priorities and objectives to be achieved, and provides for systems of financial management, monitoring, evaluation and control. Then operational programmes (the "OPs"), which detail the various priorities of a CSF at the level of a region or at the level of an individual development priority (Transport, Training, Support for businesses, etc.) are adopted. Objective 2 combines the old Objectives 2 and 5b from the period 1994-99. The areas concerned are of four types: industrial, rural, urban and dependent on fishing. Objective 2 covers 18% of the European population. For any additional information, please consult the Regional Policy Directorate- General's site: http://www.inforegio.cec.eu.int $QQH[

6XPPDU\ WDEOHV RI WKH VLQJOH SURJUDPPLQJ GRFXPHQWV LQ ,WDO\ 2EMHFWLYH ZKLFKKDYHEHHQWKHVXEMHFWRIGHFLVLRQVLQSULQFLSOH 1) Single programming documents which obtained the agreement of the Committee on the Development and Conversion of Regions on 19.6.2001

− NAME OF − STRUCTURAL − TOTAL AMOUNT PROGRAMME FUND CONTRIBUTION − ABRUZZI − ¼ 185.4 MILLION − ¼ 893 MILLION − LAZIO − ¼ 371.5 MILLION − ¼ 918 MILLION − LIGURIA − ¼ 193 MILLION − ¼ 2 065 MILLION − PIEDMONT − ¼ 488.6 MILLION − ¼ 1 256 MILLION − TUSCANY − ¼ 322.5 MILLION − ¼ 1 133 MILLION − UMBRIA − ¼ 150.5 MILLION − ¼ 393 MILLION − VENETO − ¼ 286 MILLION − ¼ 1 762 MILLION 2) Single programming documents which obtained the agreement of the Committee on the Development and Conversion of Regions on 17.7.2001

− NAME OF − STRUCTURAL − TOTAL AMOUNT PROGRAMME FUND CONTRIBUTIO N − BOLZANO − - ¼ 32.4 − - ¼ 66 MILLION MILLION − EMILIA − ¼ 122.7 MILLION − - ¼ 245 MILLION ROMAGNA − FRIULI VENEZIA − ¼ 96.5 MILLION − - ¼ 323 MILLION GIULIA − LOMBARDIA − ¼ 200.4 MILLION − - ¼ 510 MILLION − MARCHE − ¼ 125.3 MILLION − - ¼ 728 MILLION − TRENTO − ¼ 16.9 MILLION − - ¼ 73 MILLION − VALLE D'AOSTA − ¼ 16.1 MILLION − - ¼ 43 MILLION $QQH[6XPPDU\WDEOHRIWKHSURJUDPPHVDGRSWHGXQGHU2EMHFWLYH LQ,WDO\

− NAME OF PROGRAMME − STRUCTURAL − TOTAL AMOUNT FUND CONTRIBUTION − BASILICATA − ¼ 743 MILLION − ¼ 1 586 MILLION − CALABRIA − ¼ 1 994 MILLION − ¼ 5 863 MILLION − CAMPANIA − ¼ 3 825 MILLION − ¼ 9 216 MILLION − APULIA − ¼ 2 639 MILLION − ¼ 6 671 MILLION − SARDEGNA − ¼ 1 946 MILLION − ¼ 4 686 MILLION − SICILY − ¼ 3 858 MILLION − ¼ 9 415 MILLION − MOLISE (TRANSITIONAL − ¼ 181 MILLION − ¼ 605 MILLION SUPPORT -) − LOCAL BUSINESS − ¼ 1 979 MILLION − ¼ 3 919 MILLION DEVELOPMENT − TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE − ¼ 312 MILLION − ¼ 433 MILLION − FISHERIES − ¼ 122 MILLION − ¼ 276 MILLION − RESEARCH − ¼ 1 191 MILLION − ¼ 2 039 MILLION − SCHOOLING − ¼ 473 MILLION − ¼ 718 MILLION − SECURITY − ¼ 573 MILLION − ¼ 1 118 MILLION − TRANSPORT (ADOPTION − ¼ 1 801 MILLION − ¼ 4 281 MILLION END JULY) (STILL TO BE COMMITTED)

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2%-(&7,9( 2%-(&7,9( 2%-(&7,9(727$/ (regions whose (economic and social development is lagging conversion of areas behind) facing structural difficulties)

² % 0 645 382 65 737  '. 0 0 156 27 365  ' 19 229 729 2 984 526 4 581  (/ 20 961 0 0 0 0  ( 37 744 352 2 553 98 2 140  ) 3 254 551 5 437 613 4 540  ,5/ 1 315 1773 0 0 0  , 21 935 187 2 145 377 3 744  / 0034638 1/ 0 123 676 119 1 686  $ 261 0 578 102 528  3 16 124 2 905 0 0 0  ),1 913 0 459 30 403  6 722 0 354 52 720  8. 5 085 1166 3 989 706 4 586  (85      

 The rules provide for a transitional aid scheme for those regions which were eligible for structural support in 1994-99 but are no longer eligible for 2000-06. This system of degressive aid avoids putting a brutal stop to Community support and makes it possible to consolidate the results achieved by means of structural assistance in the previous period.

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