HC Deb 26 November 1991 vol 199 cc464-5W
Mr. Caborn

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Council of Ministers meeting on the regions on 18 and 19 November.

Mr. Leigh

I attended on these dates the informal meeting in the Hague of EC Ministers responsible for regional policy and physical planning. The meeting considered two subjects: the Community structural funds, and the Commission's reference document "Europe 2000, Outlook for the Development of the Community's Territory". As it was an informal meeting, not a Council, no formal conclusions were reached.

Ministers had a broad exchange of views on the implementation of the structural funds to date and on certain aspects of their future. The importance of proper evaluation of the effectiveness of the funds was recognised and several ideas for improving the efficiency of their administration were discussed. The principle of subsidiarity and its relevance to the operation of the funds was acknowledged; I and some others expressed our Governments' wish to be more fully responsible for determining the eligible areas for and the detailed uses of the funds. Both Ministers and the Commission felt that there should in future be fewer "Community initiatives", a type of grant scheme exemplified by RECHAR.

The reference document "Europe 2000" was generally welcomed, although I and others emphasised that it should not lead to any Community "spatial plan" contrary to the principle of subsidiarity. The Commission intends to carry out further studies. The intention of establishing a committee or working group, to facilitate exchange of information and experience on matters relevant to the Community dimension of "spatial development" in the member states, will be considered in detail at official level.