Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans has welcomed today's vote in the European Parliament to approve the EU's spending plans for the period 2007-13. West Wales and the Valleys stand to benefit as a result since the area will be eligible to receive millions in EU structural funding - formerly known as Objective One. Plaid Cymru has been campaigning for this deal for Wales.
Speaking from the Strasbourg Parliament, Jill Evans said:
"I welcome today's decision to confirm the European Union budget for the next seven years. It's far from what I would have liked to have seen in terms of rural development funding but it does ensure that West Wales and the Valleys will have the equivalent of Objective One money and we can now go ahead with confidence in planning to regenerate this area.
"But this is the last time that such an important decision can be made in this lengthy and secretive way. There is a need for complete reform of the system and the way the EU is financed."
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