Projects

This project involved research on the reform of the Structural Funds and the position to be adopted by the UK in the forthcoming negotiations. It was intended as an initial step towards determining the valued added of the Structural Funds in the UK and their relationship with national policies. The goal of the feasibility study was to provide evidence allowing the UK Government to decide upon the shape and scope of a future evaluation of the impact and added value of enterprise and regeneration activity funded by Structural Funds in the UK.

This project involved research contributing to the debate about the reform of Structural Funds and the implications for Scotland. It aimed to improve understanding of how the reform debate was evolving at European level, to assess the likely effects of Scotland losing substantial amounts of European funding after 2006, and to encourage discussion of how Scotland should engage in the international debate.

The project reviews the different regional policy instruments used in the EU, focusing on different types of financial instruments and support measyres for the business environment as well as the organisation of regional policy support.

The project involved research on the possibility of a strategic approach in the Baltic countries to rural/regional development, targeted on the more disadvantaged sections of the population.

The project involved preparatory research and organisation of a major international conference on 'Benchmarking Regional Policy in Europe' in September 2001 . The meeting brought together senior regional policymakers from all ten Central and East European Candidate Countries as well as Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. The aim of the conference was to provide a forum for informal but in-depth discussion on common regional policy challenges facing European countries. The conference represented an important opportunity to exchange experience in all aspects of structural and regional policy. Research papers prepared and presented by EPRC were used to guide and open discussion, with participants encouraged to make maximum use of the confidential setting for frank and open debate. Discussions during the two main conference days covered topics such as the evolution and form of national regional policy, EU competition policy constraints and their impact on policy-making, and the experience of implementing EU structural and cohesion policies.

The project involved research on the integration of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) and the Urban Framework for Action (UFA) into the 2000-06 Objective 1 Structural Fund programmes. Undertaken at the same time as a parallel Objective 2 project, it had three main aims: (i) to assess whether the Policy Guidelines and Aims of the ESDP and the policy options of the UFA had been integrated into the Objective 1 programmes; (ii) to consider how this had been done, and; (iii) to draw together an overview by providing a typology of the spatial and urban actions which correspond with the integration of ESDP and UFA guidelines, aims and options

The project involved research on the integration of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) and the Urban Framework for Action (UFA) into the 2000-06 Objective 2 Structural Fund programmes. Undertaken at the same time as a parallel Objective 1 project, it had three main aims: (i) to assess whether the Policy Guidelines and Aims of the ESDP and the policy options of the UFA had been integrated into the Objective 2 programmes; (ii) to consider how this had been done, and; (iii) to draw together an overview by providing a typology of the spatial and urban actions which correspond with the integration of ESDP and UFA guidelines, aims and options

The project involved research on the implications of EU enlargement for regional policy in the European Union and the facilitation of a Sub Rosa seminar held in Brussels, sponsored by Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Executive.

The project formed one of the background research studies written in preparation for the European Commission's Second Cohesion Report (adopted in January 2001). The study analysed the economic characteristics of enlargement and the patterns of regional disparity (eg. for GDP, unemployment and employment) in the Central and East European Candidate Countries and the current EU Member States. The types of regional problem evident in the Candidate Countries were identified, in part through a cluster analysis, and compared to the main regional problem categorisations in the EU-15. The study also looked at certain critical issues of enlargement - trade, investment and migration - including their potential regional and social impact. The final part of the research focused on projected patterns of disparity and the range of policy options and issues facing the design and delivery of future EU structural and cohesion policy in an enlarged EU. While the study focused on the ten Central and East European Candidate Countries, the research also looked at the projected impact on cohesion of the accession of the island economies of Cyprus and Malta.

The project involved a detailed examination of the possible consequences of enlargement for cohesion in the current EU Member States and in the candidate countries to support the preparation of the Second Report on Economic and Social Cohesion in the EU. The study clarified the main channels through which enlargement will affect national, regional and social cohesion in Europe, identifying the main similarities and contrasts between (relevant groupings of) regions and regional developments in Western and Eastern Europe, and produced a picture of the possible consequences of enlargement for regional disparities and social cohesion, e.g. employment opportunities and unemployment risks