§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) which members of the EU which have been admitted to stage 3 of EMU will still be eligible for assistance from the Cohesion Fund; and to what extent after 1 January 2000 as a result of the Berlin summit; [79558]
(2) what was agreed at the Berlin summit in respect of the future of the Cohesion Fund. [79568]
§ Mr. WillsFollowing agreement of the Agenda 2000 package at the Berlin Council of Ministers on 25 March.
It was concluded that the four current beneficiaries: Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland should continue to be eligible for funding in 2000 while they met the criteria. A review of eligibility based on 90 per cent. average GNP criterion will be undertaken at mid-term in 2003. In the event of a Member State becoming ineligible, resources for the Cohesion Fund will be reduced accordingly.
The Council agreed that the overall level of resources available to be committed under the Cohesion Fund for the years 2000 to 2006 should be 18 billion euros. On the financial management and control provisions in the regulation it was concluded that there should be consistency with the relevant provisions of the Structural Fund regulation, subject to taking due account of the specific features of the Cohesion Fund.