Commission grants ECU 6.2 million for RECHAR II programme in the Saarland
The Commission is to provide ECU 6.2 million to support restructuring of the economy in the Saarland region of Germany. A programme under the RECHAR II the Community initiative has been approved on the basis of a proposal from the Commissioner for regional policies, Mrs. Monika Wulf-Mathies. RECHAR is designed to support areas affected by the decline in the coal mining industry by encouraging diversification of the local economy. The programme for the Saarland has a total volume of ECU 22.9 million and is due to run until the end of 1997. The contribution of the Community comes to ECU 6.26 million funded from the European Regional Development Fund (approximately ECU 4.4 million) and the European Social Fund (just under ECU 1.9 million). Private investors will be contributing approximately ECU 9.3 million. The RECHAR programme for the Saarland will benefit areas in the Saarbruecken conglomeration, and in the districts of Saarlouis and Neunkirchen. Assistance will go, inter alia, to schemes for environmental rehabilitation, preparation of industrial sites and energy conservation. Skill-improvement courses, in particular for the unemployed and people threatened with redundancy, will help to remedy the worse-than-average labour market situation in the areas concerned. This RECHAR II programme for the Saarland constitutes a continuation of the previous RECHAR programme for 1990-1993, which the Community supported with approximately ECU 11 million. Activities carried out under RECHAR are integrated, together with other Community assistance programmes, into the overall development strategy for the Saarland.
Countries
Germany