The United Kingdom would be entitled to some €13bn of regional development funding for the 2021-2027 period should it stay in the European Union. This is according to estimates published by the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), a European organisation representing the interests of 160 regions from 25 countries from the European Union and beyond.
“Our analysis provides clear evidence that Brexit would be disastrous for the regional development of UK regions,” said CPMR Secretary General, Eleni Marianou. “In CPMR we stand by our UK members and share their concerns on the persistent regional disparities that will be further aggravated.”
The CPMR analysis is based on the European Commission’s allocation methodology for the ERDF and ESF+ funds, which shows that the UK regions and nations would be entitled to an increase of 22% for the 2021-2027 period, compared to the allocation of €10.6bn for 2014-2020.
This increase can largely be explained by the fact many areas of the UK are falling behind the EU average in terms of regional prosperity.
According to the CPMR projection, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly and West Wales & the Valleys, the two regions in the UK currently classed as “less developed regions” under the European Commission’s eligibility rules, would still stand to receive a significant share of the UK allocation of Cohesion policy.
In addition, the regions of South Yorkshire, Tees Valley & Durham and Lincolnshire would also become less developed regions for the 2021-2027 period. All five of these regions would stand to receive EU support in excess of 500 euros per capita for the seven-year period.
