Fuente: © European Union
http://europa.eu.int

EU: Spain — Operational Programme 2007–2013: Aragon

/noticias.info/ 1. Operational Programme 2007-2013 for the Aragon region – programme under the "Regional competitiveness and employment" objective co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

2. Overview

On 20 November 2007, the European Commission approved an operational programme for the Aragon region in Spain for the period 2007-2013.

This Operational Programme comes under the "Regional competitiveness and employment" objective and has a total budget of some €326 million. The financing provided by the Community through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) totals around €163 million, representing some 0.5% of total EU investment in Spain under the cohesion policy 2007-2013.

3. Purpose and aim of the programme

The strategy of the operational programme was developed on the basis of:

* regional issues highlighted by analysis of the region’s potential;
* the gains achieved during the previous stages of the Community programme;
* the Community’s strategic guidelines and the national strategic framework, which establish the principles for the allocation of European funding.

The region of Aragon has chosen to place innovation, the knowledge-based economy and the stimulation of entrepreneurship in all sectors of the regional economy at the heart of its strategy. The environment, risk prevention and sustainable urban development are also priorities. The ultimate aim is to reinforce the overall competitiveness of the regional system.

The production structures of the region of Aragon are characterised by the marked influence of the tertiary and industrial sectors. There are also a number of highly specialised production structures in the field of transport and food, and many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly micro-enterprises.

In order to develop the competitiveness of these sectors, emphasis is placed on increased modernisation, research and innovation capacity. The programme therefore aims to improve the mechanisms for technological transfers between public research centres and businesses so as to help the region to better exploit its full potential. The programme aims to contribute significantly to achieving the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy, with considerable support being provided for research, technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Furthermore, the programme will target the promotion and protection of infrastructures linked to biodiversity and the development of plans and measures to prevent and manage natural risks. It will also take account of actions to promote sustainable urban development, culture and tourism.

4. Expected impact of the investments

The expected impact of the programme can be estimated as follows:

* 1 145 co-financed R&D projects;
* 3 206 recipient businesses;
* 1 879 jobs created.

5. Priorities

The operational programme is structured around four priorities:

Priority 1: Knowledge-based economy, innovation and entrepreneurial development [around 81% of total investment]

This priority, centred on the promotion of research, innovation, modernisation and the development and dissemination of technologies, is achieved by strengthening and creating networks between the resources already available in the region and by improving these resources. Special attention will be paid to the programmes for research and the information society (R&D) in close cooperation with businesses, universities and research centres for the development and dissemination of technologies which have a positive impact on the environment, the strengthening of productive zones of regional interest, growth and skills development.

It is also important to promote the growth of micro-enterprises and SMEs by developing their innovation potential and their entrepreneurship in order to allow them to access new markets in the globalised economy.

Priority 2: Environment and risk prevention [around 6.5% of total investment]

Under this priority, the focus is on encouraging the development of plans and measures to prevent and manage natural risks, the establishment of efficient energy and water management systems, the promotion of the development of infrastructures linked to biodiversity, and the protection and enhancement of natural heritage.

Priority 3: Sustainable urban development [around 11% of total investment]

Two types of action are envisaged under this priority. On the one hand, an urban development programme is introduced to support participative, integrated and sustainable strategies for dealing with the concentration of economic, environmental and social problems in an urban area. On the other hand, measures are implemented to protect and enhance cultural heritage as potential for the development of sustainable tourism.

Priority 4: Technical assistance [around 1.5% of total investment]

Technical assistance facilitates the co-financing of management, monitoring, evaluation, coordination, information and communication activities. notas_de_prensa_archivo