ADOPTION OF INITIAL OBJECTIVE 2 PROGRAMMMES.

• Position: Brief Article

The European Commission adopted on 29 June two regional development programmes for Southern and Western Finland. These are the first two Objective 2 programmes to be approved for the 2000-2006 period. They have been allocated Euro 500 million of Community financing, of which Euro 284 million has been earmarked for Western Finland and Euro 211 million for Southern Finland. Nearly one-third of the country's population live in these areas. Together with matching national public funding and private expenditure, the two programmes together will inject over Euro 2.3 billion of development resources into the regions. Job creation at the end of the programming period is estimated at 35,000 for the western area and 15,000 for the southern area.The programmes' strategy places strong emphasis on innovation and know-how in which...