Jill Evans MEP continues campaign for European investment
At their annual conference in Llandudno, Plaid Cymru voted in support of Jill Evans’ motion calling on the European Union to maintain current levels of spending on Cohesion Policy. This policy is used by the EU to ensure that poorer areas of Europe are able to catch with the richer areas. The motion called for the focus to remain on the poorest areas of Europe, and for transitional support to be given to regions which no longer qualify for Cohesion Funding because they have got richer. During the current funding round Wales has already received over £3 billion from Europe, assisting almost 170,000 participants in Wales, with over 22,000 people helped into work and over 53,000 people supported to gain qualifications. The funding has also been used to create over 5,300 jobs and 1,300 new enterprises. This motion also called for a simplification of the grant application and approval processes.
Plaid MEP Jill Evans said,
“This motion was important in showing that Plaid Cymru is committed to working hard on behalf of the people of Wales in Europe. The UK Government’s attempts to renationalise cohesion funding with no guarantee that the money would be replaced by Treasury funding is unacceptable. We are already underfunded by Westminster to the tune of £300 million every single year and the current ConDem Government has shown no signs of addressing this funding gap.”
Jill Evans MEP, who is also Party President, continued,
“It’s vitally important people know that there are grants available to them, and that these grants are made accessible to the public. The EU's budget has become highly important for Wales, as billions of pounds have been invested by the EU in supporting the Welsh economy and agriculture. Structural funds in particular have helped Wales at a time of unprecedented economic difficulties."
"The European Union recognised the fact that we in Wales need some assistance in transforming our economy into one that is fit for the 21st Century. It’s unfortunate that both the weak Labour Government in Cardiff and the negligible Condem Government in Westminster don’t care as much about the financial needs of Wales. We are therefore forced to bypass them and deal directly with the EU in order to see an increase in our financial settlement.”
Ends.
