EU FUNDS

A basic purpose of the European Union, as viewed in successive Treaties, is the elimination of economic and social disparities across EU member states. In March 2000, the European Council of Lisbon set a new 10-year strategic objective for the EU: to become “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.

Over the period 2000-2006, the European Commission is partly implementing this through programmes of financial intervention: in particular, the Structural Funds and the Community Initiatives. These initiatives lever in additional domestic finance on a matching basis.

With regard to the Structural Funds, London benefits from two schemes:

• Objective 2 ~ funded through the European Regional Development Fund & the European Social Fund, this is worth about £160 million net for parts London
• Objective 3 ~ funded through the European Social Fund, this is worth about £423 million net across the whole of London.

With regard to the Community Initiatives, London benefits from two schemes:

• URBAN II ~ funded through the European Regional Development Fund, London’s programme is worth £6 million net for projects in the Larkhall & Stockwell wards of the London Borough of Lambeth
• EQUAL ~ funded by the European Social Fund, this is a national programme involving many London groups in trans-national partnerships

Historically, London is a region where voluntary and community groups have been especially active in the delivery of projects under the above Funds. Often, this has been as members of broad partnerships involving the statutory and private sectors.

This exemplary street-level involvement has been encouraged and sustained through more than a decade of targeted support for voluntary sector intermediary bodies, under Programme Technical Assistance. The UK Government’s promotion of this type of intervention is unique in the EU. In the case of the Government Office for London, this has been most intensively demonstrated through the financing of the London Voluntary Sector Training Consortium.

For more information, please visit the fund pages.