Programme under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Programme description
On 11 September 2007, the European Commission approved a Regional Operational Programme for the Italian region of Veneto for the 2007-13 period. The Operational Programme falls within the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective framework and has a total budget of around €452 million. Community investment through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) amounts to some €208 million, which represents approximately 0.7% of the total EU investment earmarked for Italy under the Cohesion Policy for 2007-13.
1. Aim and purpose of the programme
The overall objective of the Programme is to render the Veneto region more appealing to both people and to businesses. The Programme will make investments in the field of research and Development (R&D), innovation, new business creation, renewable energy and clean urban transportation. The two latter fields (renewable energy and clean urban transportation) contribute to the EU-Kyoto commitments.
The Programme aims to develop a knowledge-based economy by ensuring access to information and communication technology (ICT) and to its efficient use. The Programme anticipates that these efforts will contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy objectives substantially. The main objective of the Programme is to facilitate and to promote cross-border inter-regional cooperation and intra-regional cooperation in an effort to strengthen territorial, social and economic cohesion.
2. Expected impact of investments
The aim of the Programme is to improve the region's overall performance in innovation and to close the existing gap between the other regions of Northern Italy. In addition, the Programme will provide the framework conditions for the protection and improvement of environmental quality. Likewise, the Programme will supply additional resources toward the prevention of technological risks and toward the enhancement of natural and cultural heritage.
The programme aims to create 800 new full-time jobs in industry and the R&D sector, distributed equally among men and women. The Programme anticipates that this achievement will trigger additional local investment in the region €452 million. Specifically, the Programme expects the main impact to include:
- an increase of renewable energy consumption of 25% by 2015
- a reduction of greenhouse gas emission of 570 000 tonnes/year
- a 20% reduction of air pollution and output of PM10 tonnes/year.
3. Priorities
The ERDF programme main objectives for 2007-2013 are to promote research and innovation and to support clean urban transport and renewable energy. In addition, the Programme will be an important tool for realising the revised Lisbon Strategy objectives for growth and jobs, as it allocates 63.7 % of its entire budget toward these ends. Another important part of the aid will support inter-regional cooperation initiatives with other Italian regions and other Member state regions.
The following priorities represent the structure of the Regional Operational Programme for the Veneto region.
Priority 1: Innovation and knowledge economy [approximately 42.0% of total funding]
Consistent with the revised Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, the priority focuses on the knowledge economy. This priority will promote business innovation in the knowledge-based sector, product development sector and process development sector (including new start-ups). Likewise, the Priority 1 axis will support:
- R&D
- networking
- aid for new innovation business creation (mainly among young women)
- services to enterprises and support for financial engineering instruments.
Priority 2: Energy [approximately 15.0% of total funding]
This priority supports energy efficiency in buildings and renewable energy, in particular biomass, micro-hydro-electric energy and geothermal energy. It aims to accelerate the introduction of innovative and cost-competitive renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Similarly, the Programme will reduce the region's energy dependence by 20%.
Priority 3: Environment and risk prevention [approximately 15.4% of total funding]
This priority focuses on:
- the rehabilitation of industrial sites and contaminated land
- the promotion of biodiversity, nature protection (including Natura 2000)
- measures that protect the environment and reduce health risks.
These measures will help the region to meet its environmental challenges, while simultaneously benefiting the economy. In addition, the priority includes measures to protect and preserve the natural heritage as well as buildings of cultural value.
Priority 4: Access to transport and telecommunication services of general economic interest [approximately 20.9% of total funding]
The priority focuses on the telecommunication infrastructure and IT services. The region intends to extend broadband internet coverage and to provide wireless connectivity solutions to support access to public networks. It also promotes clean urban transport, an intelligent transport system, multi-modal transport and regional railway system upgrades.
Priority 5: Interregional cooperation [approximately 4.6% of total funding]
This priority provides opportunities for the Veneto region to cooperate with other regions of Europe on projects in research and innovation, energy, entrepreneurship and the environment. It also aims to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies and instruments through large-scale information exchange, sharing of experience and network building. These efforts will enable regions to share and test best practice for economic modernisation and competitiveness. The actions involve partners from across the EU. The Programme will give particular emphasis to activities with other Member states and regions with which the Veneto has formal co-operation agreements. Currently, regional agreements include the autonomous Province of Trento, Friuli Venetia Giulia, Carinthia, (Austria), North-West Romania, Slovenia and Istria (Croatia).
Priority 6: Technical assistance [approximately 2.1% of total funding]
The priority will use technical assistance to implement the Programme. This assistance will cover administration, monitoring, evaluation, auditing, information and communication.
4. Managing Authority
Financial information
Breakdown of finances by priority axis
| Priority Axis | EU Investment | National Public Contribution | Total Public Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innovation and knowledge economy | 87.334.766,00 | 102.794.296,00 | 190.129.062,00 |
| Energy | 31.190.988,00 | 36.712.249,00 | 67.903.237,00 |
| Environment and risk prevention | 32.022.748,00 | 37.691.242,00 | 69.713.990,00 |
| Access to transport and telecommunication services of general economic interest | 43.546.372,00 | 51.254.717,00 | 94.801.089,00 |
| Interregional cooperation | 9.478.307,00 | 11.156.105,00 | 20.634.412,00 |
| Technical assistance | 4.366.739,00 | 5.139.715,00 | 9.506.454,00 |
| Total | 207.939.920,00 | 244.748.324,00 | 452.688.244,00 |