Operational Programme 'Loire'

On 25 July 2007 the European Commission approved an Operational Programme for the Loire Region in France for the period 2007-2013.

This Operational Programme comes under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective and has a total budget of about 1.1 billion euros. The aid provided by the European Union (EU) under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) amounts to some 302 million euros, representing about 2.1% of Community aid to France as part of the cohesion policy for 2007-2013.

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1. Purpose and aim of the programme

The strategy adopted in this operational programme, following on from the Community Strategic Guidelines and the National Strategic Reference Framework, has the following aims:

• to integrate the Loire Region effectively into a "Europe of research and innovation" with a view to sustainable competitiveness, growth and employment;
• to preserve the regional environment by conserving biodiversity;
• to improve the connectivity of the region and its standing in Europe;
• to promote accessibility of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and take-up of their use;
• to support the sustainable development of the region.

2. Expected impact of the investment

The Community funding should lead to:

• the creation of 11 000 jobs;
• the creation of 5 100 new businesses in the context of cooperation between science and industry;
• 3 800 patent applications;
• the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by around 36.2 kt of CO₂;
• 8% more of the population using a means of transport other than the car;
• 75% of the population having access to public electronic content at local and intermunicipal levels.

3. Priorities

Implementation of the programme is divided into five priority areas:

Priority 1: a successful and innovative region – innovation and the knowledge-based economy, enterprise policy [approx. 42% of total investment]

This first priority provides for:

• the development of a regional strategy for innovation;
• support for the development of poles of competitiveness;
• a favourable environment for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
• monitoring, networking and information activities and raising awareness of innovation and research.

Priority 2: an environmentally responsible region – environment and risk prevention [approx. 14.5% of total investment]

The objectives set in this priority area are geared towards conserving biodiversity, developing renewable energies, comprehensive risk management and developing the cultural heritage in rural areas as potential for sustainable development.

Priority 3: an accessible region – access to transport and telecommunication services [approx. 23% of total investment]

The aim of this priority is to:

• focus ERDF assistance on equipment to promote intermodality;
• develop high-speed and very high-speed mobile telephone networks;
• promote accessibility of ICTs and take-up of their use.

Another objective is to support the development of ICTs with a view to greater wellbeing of the population and better development of the region. The specific measures will target the fields of telemedicine, e-government, education, the economy, research, innovation, culture and social inclusion.

Priority 4: an attractive, inclusive region – the urban dimension supporting cohesion and sustainable development [approx. 19.5% of total investment]

The fourth priority area will be managed by means of calls for urban projects to identify structuring and sustainable projects in the region. Within this, funds for urban regeneration will be concentrated as a priority on run-down areas as defined as part of urban policy.

Priority 5: Technical assistance [approx. 1% of total investment]

The final priority area will provide support for the introduction of an effective management, monitoring and control system to evaluate the programme and its projects and for communication and publicity relating to the programme and the operations carried out.