Programme under the 'Regional competitiveness and employment' objective, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Programme description
On 24 January 2008, the European Commission approved an operational programme for the region of Corsica in France, covering the period 2007-2013.
This operational programme comes under the "Regional competitiveness and employment" objective with a total budget of around €425 million. The aid provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) amounts to some €150 million, which represents about 1.1% of Community contributions in France under the cohesion policy 2007-2013.
1. Purpose and aim of the programme
The island of Corsica lies 160 km from Nice in France and 90 km from Italy and has an area of 8 680 km². It had 272 600 inhabitants in 2006, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE). Its population is growing more rapidly than in the country as a whole, mainly as a result of the influx of workers aged between 30 and 40 and retired persons over the age of 60. Its natural population growth is virtually nil.
In recent years Corsica has had strong and sustainable GDP growth that has been more rapid than the national average. However, with a GDP per capita of €20 918 in 2004, it is still in last place among all the regions of mainland France (77.5% of the national average).
Corsica's GDP is heavily dependent on the tertiary sector. It is mainly accounted for by services (83% of GDP, compared with 72% for France as a whole), which reflects the considerable importance of public loans and tourism in its structure. For several years the unemployment rate was about 3% higher than in mainland France. The situation improved considerably in 2004 and 2005, with the difference being only half a percentage point at the end of 2005/beginning of 2006 (France 9.6%, Corsica 10.1%).
The operational programme's strategy is based essentially on:
- the regional challenges highlighted by the diagnosis and analysis of the region's potential;
- the Community Strategic Guidelines and the National Strategic Framework, which lay down the principles for allocation of the funds.
The programme's objectives are as follows:
- to develop and organise the island's innovation capacity and to make progress in the knowledge economy, both for its inhabitants and for the more competitive enterprises in their economic sector;
- to develop and organise a sustainable environment while preserving the quality of the island's natural assets with a view to environment-friendly energy and economic development;
- to promote the region's accessibility and interconnection by developing transport and the information technologies of the ecological networks which improve the islanders' quality of life by means of services linking them to one another and with the rest of Europe and the world.
2. Expected impact of the investments
The aim of the "Competitiveness" strand of the operational programme is primarily to increase the number of researchers working in enterprises, the number of cooperation projects between research institutes and enterprises and the number of industrial patents.
The main aims of the "Environment" strand are to increase the number of persons benefiting from fire protection measures, to increase the annual share of renewable energies in electricity production, to save energy and to increase the number of managed sites.
The aim of the strand on the region's accessibility and interconnection is to increase the number of persons served by an improved urban transport network and having access to the broadband network, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
3. Priorities
The Commission Decision adopts the operational programme of Community assistance from the ERDF under the "Regional competitiveness and employment" objective of the region of Corsica in France. It is the outcome of discussions and negotiations between the Commission and France which took place officially between the date of submission of the first draft operational programme on 25 June 2007 and the submission of the final version of the programme on 19 December 2007.
The operational programme is structured around four priorities:
- to develop and organise innovation on the island [approx. 55.7% of total investment];
- to preserve and enhance a sustainable environment [approx. 23% of total investment];
- to promote the region's accessibility and interconnection [approx. 19% of total investment];
- technical assistance [approx. 2.4% of total investment].
4. Managing Authority
Financial information
Breakdown of finances by priority axis
| Priority Axis | EU Investment | National Public Contribution | Total Public Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| To develop and organise the island's innovation capacity | 71.850.000,00 | 164.764.000,00 | 236.614.000,00 |
| To preserve and enhance a sustainable environment | 38.200.000,00 | 59.465.000,00 | 97.665.000,00 |
| To promote the region's accessibility and interconnection | 35.300.000,00 | 45.262.000,00 | 80.562.000,00 |
| Technical assistance | 5.115.376,00 | 5.115.376,00 | 10.230.752,00 |
| Total | 150.465.376,00 | 274.606.376,00 | 425.071.752,00 |