§ 18. Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales which parts of the Principality he expects to have their status altered as regards EU structural funds. [50285]
§ Mr. HainThe Commission's draft regulations for the Structural and Cohesion Funds which are part of the Agenda 2000 package were published on the 18 March 1998. The Regulations must now be agreed by all fifteen Member States and approved where appropriate by the European Parliament.
Our overriding concern in the long negotiations ahead is to ensure that these draft Regulations are fair, affordable and durable, particularly to the UK and its regions. We do not expect the Regulations for the Structural and Cohesion Funds to be adopted until early 1999. It would therefore be premature to speculate on which areas might qualify or on the amount of any aid which they might receive once the new Regulations come into effect.