§ Mr. TylerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what criteria he used to substantiate the application for designation of(a) Cornwall and (b) Devon as economically deprived regions requiring objective 1 status for European Community development assistance; and what effect a separate or joint submission will have on Cornwall's chances of success;
(2) if he will publish his submission to the European Commission seeking designation of Cornwall and Devon as economically deprived regions requiring objective 1 status for development assistance.
§ Mr. Sainsbury[holding answer 23 February 1993]: The European Council decided at Edinburgh that the future coverage of objective I should be determined as article 8(1) of Council regulation (EEC) 2052/88. This states that objective I regions shall be regions at NUTS II level whose per capita GDP is less than 75 per cent. of the Community average. It also provides for the inclusion of Northern Ireland and, for special reasons, of other regions whose GDP figure is close to 75 per cent.
Devon and Cornwall together form a NUTS II level region with GDP assessed as being 82 per cent. of the Community average. My right hon. Friend has written to the responsible Commissioner proposing this NUTS II region for objective 1 on the grounds of its relatively low GDP coupled with its peripherality, the effect of defence changes and declining employment in agriculture. I do not consider that it would be appropriate to publish my right hon. Friend's letter.
Cornwall alone is classified as a NUTS III region. Its estimated per capita GDP exceeds not only 75 per cent. of the Community average, but the estimated figures of more 610W then 60 other NUTS III regions in the Community, which are not part of NUTS II regions, likely to be eligible for objective 1 status.