The Cohesion Fund in 1997
The European Union's Cohesion Fund committed a total of over ECU 2,748 million, in 1997, to ongoing and new projects in the sectors of trans-European transport infrastructure and environment in the beneficiary Member States (Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal). The division of funds between the environment and transport sectors in 1997 was 54.4% and 45.5% respectively - contributing to the Fund's aim of achieving an equitable allocation of financial assistance between the two sectors for the planning period 1993-1999. The remaining 0.1% of the Fund's budgetary allocation was directed towards technical assistance. With the Cohesion Fund in its fifth year of operations, the emphasis shifted from the adoption of new projects to the management and control of the projects decided on in earlier years. As a consequence only some 60% of the allocations foreseen in 1998 and 1999 will be available for the adoption of new projects in the two years to come.
Countries
Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal