2012-11-09 – The Brussels Minister for the Environment, Energy and Urban Regeneration gave an update on Friday on the 2007-2013 programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and on the discussions in progress at European level about ERDF programming for the next period, 2014-2020.
For several years now, Brussels has benefited from a European Structural Funds programme. During the 2007-2013 period, this has led to 114 million euros of investment in the Brussels Region (57 million via the ERDF and 57 via the Region). Between 2000 and 2014, nearly 230 million euros will have been invested in the Region’s central districts, through various projects.
The investment has been in several fields: developing the green economy; stimulating and developing economic infrastructure; improving the area’s image; and investing in local facilities. In all, 34 projects have been completed or are in progress, including the Bellevue Hotel Complex, Brussels Ecopole (a recycling centre for various kinds of waste) and Brussels Greenbizz (a centre for green businesses).
As happens every seven years, this policy is being debated at European level for the period 2014-2020. The Brussels Region is making every effort, within the Belgian federal context, to position itself optimally for the future of the Structural Funds. It is advocating an ambitious vision of the cohesion policy, the main tool at the European Union’s disposal for activating a real economic recovery. At present, the cohesion policy has the second largest European budget, after the Common Agricultural Policy. The Brussels Minister is also arguing in favour of the urban dimension, at the European and Belgian levels: it is essential for the authorities to maintain a substantial level of investment in problematic urban areas.
More information here.
