Nicholson issues appeal for Unionist communities to appeal for EU Funding
Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson appealed today for Protestant and Unionist communities across Northern Ireland to have the confidence to apply for EU funding and take advantage of the additional EU money that has been allocated for the PEACE programme from 2007 – 2013.
Mr Nicholson made the appeal on the back of a recent seminar he hosted with the Chairman of the UUP’s Councillors Association, Cllr Trevor Wilson on the future of European funding in Northern Ireland.
At the Seminar, held in Cookstown, the party received a briefing from and held a question and answer session with Pat Colgan, the Chief Executive of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The SEUPB will have a significant and enhanced part to play in the future of PEACE 3 and INTERREG 4.
Speaking today UUP MEP Jim Nicholson said,
“We held, what I thought to be, an interesting and extremely useful discussion on the future of European funding through the PEACE and INTERREG Programme.
“I always welcome the opportunity to engage with the SEUPB on these important issues. The PEACE and INTERREG programmes have made an important contribution to local communities in Northern since their inception but have not been without their fair share of problems or criticisms such as the under funding of projects from the Unionist community.
“The main message coming from the meeting is an appeal for groups from the Unionist community to have the confidence to come forward with proposals which may be eligible for European funding.
“There is much my community can do to help itself but there are also issues to do with the current programme and its operation, which place the unionist community at a significant disadvantage. The open call procedure for distributing funds may appear to be the fairest way of operating but in reality it is disadvantageous to those from Protestant, Loyalist and Unionist communities who lack the community infrastructure, capacity and confidence to compete with others in a process like this. This vicious circle must be broken.
“I look forward to greater east/west cooperation in the new cross border territorial cooperation programmes. Everyone agrees that a programme of cooperation between Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic would bring great social, economic and environmental benefits to the areas concerned. The UUP will be discussing over the coming weeks what its final response to the future of the PEACE programme and future cross border territorial cooperation will be.”