Allister meets EU task force Co-ordinator
11 September 2007
In advance of the next meeting of the EU Task Force on Northern Ireland, next Tuesday (18 September), Jim Allister MEP this morning in Brussels met its co-ordinator, senior Commission official, Ronald Hall, Director of Regio B (Development of Cohesion Policy).
Mr Allister stressed the necessity of keeping the Task Force focused on core economic issues and the avoidance of being sidetracked onto mere soft social issues, such as largely happened with PEACE funding. To this end Mr Allister submitted a paper analysing the weaknesses of the Northern Ireland economy (available here), showing the severe deficit in R & D expenditure and over-reliance on the public sector, as well as the scale of economic inactivity, all of which are contributing to a sluggish and imbalanced economy.
Commenting Mr Allister said, "This was a useful meeting at which I was able to press the case for maximising the focus on economic advancement. I see particular scope in better access to R & D funding through the 7th Framework Directive, more deployment of EIB funds and developments such as promoting aquaculture under the European Fisheries Fund.
I also stressed that the Task Force should resist contentions that our economic future lies in an all-island approach. Economic co-operation with the Republic has its place, but ours is a British economy, with our future and prospects tied by trade, affinity, economic policy and opportunity to the much larger and more stable UK.
Commissioner Hubner, who chairs the Task Force, will return to Northern Ireland in the coming weeks and when she does, it is important that she has an in depth engagement with the business sector, because it is through growing the private sector that we will grow our economy."
