EU regional funding to island regions and its effects in mitigating the geographical disadvantages of these regions

Abstract

Literature review suggests that the development of certain regions is hindered by their geographical features such as insularity which characterises island regions. The European Union (EU) dedicates a considerable percentage of its budget to its regional policy of which the main aim is that of assisting EU regions in their development. However, the allocation of EU regional funding is not generally based on whether or not a region is disadvantaged geographically but rather on the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of the regions as a percentage of the EU average GDP per capita. The lower the GDP per capita of a region, the more funds that region is expected to receive. Still, exceptions are made with regards the outermost regions (ORs) - the majority of which are NUTS II island regions - which are subjected to special EU regional funding measures on the basis of their geographical features which put them at a disadvantaged position. The remaining NUTS II island regions, however, are not subjected to any special measures. With this in mind, this study aimed at first determining whether or not non-OR island regions are in fact disadvantaged by their geographical features and secondly, establishing to what extent the current EU regional funding system helps island regions in their mitigation of their geographical disadvantages. The research has been carried out by consulting a wide range of sources ranging from publications to statistics, government sources and journal and newspaper articles. The last part of the thesis explored whether or not there is the need for an EU regional policy which provides special measures for island regions. The results have indicated that island regions are to a great extent geographically disadvantaged and that the current EU regional funding system assists island regions only to a certain degree. vii Therefore, the conclusion of the thesis is that special measures should be adopted specifically for all island regions in order to compensate for their geographical handicaps.