GOVERNMENT SNATCHES CORNWALL'S EURO MILLIONS (Julia Goldsworthy)

Julia Goldsworthy <info@juliagoldsworthy.org>

GOVERNMENT SNATCHES CORNWALL'S EURO MILLIONS

February 9, 2009 1:30 PM

Almost £25 million of European funds earmarked to be spent in Cornwall has been re-allocated to the Treasury, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Team for Cornwall has learned.

The government rejected an invitation from Brussels to extend the spending deadline for unused European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) cash. The offer would have allowed Cornwall a further 6 months to spend this money and was made in December as part of a huge EU fiscal stimulus package designed to target the recession.

Almost every other EU country accepted the invitation and the government approved the extension for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but refused to do the same for England. England's poorest regions have lost a total of £671 million to the Treasury as a result, with Cornwall one of the biggest losers.

The money will now be taken off the government's contribution to the EU - leading Cornwall's MPs to claim the money has been used to plug a black hole in Treasury finances.

Commenting, Falmouth and Camborne MP Julia Goldsworthy said:

"Cornwall is one of the poorest parts of the country - which is why we qualified for Objective One funding in the first place.

"It is beyond belief that the government are cynically clawing back funds from areas that need it most, just to plug a black hole in their own finances."

Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall, added:

"Gordon Brown constantly talks about the importance of a fiscal stimulus to get the economy going, but how can that be reconciled with this decision to stop millions of pounds of regeneration funding being spent in Cornwall.

"It is unacceptable that such a decision has been made without formally consulting MPs or the regions affected. We are calling for a debate in Parliament so that ministers can explain their underhand behaviour."