ÁNGELES GAYOSO

Vocal Asesora, Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Pública, España

THE ROLE OF THE COHESION

POLICY IN THE OUTERMOST

REGIONS. THE SPANISH CASE.

FORUM OF THE OUTERMOST REGIONS

BRUSSELS, 31 MARCH 2017

BACKGROUND

SINCE ITS ADHESION AND UP UNTIL THE PERIOD 200O-2006, SPAIN WAS THE

LARGEST BENEFICIARY OF THE EUROPEAN COHESION POLICY IN ABSOLUTE

TERMS. IN 2007-2013 IT RANKED SECOND AFTER POLAND; IN 2014-2020 IT

WAS THIRD AFTER POLAND AND ITALY.

IN ANY CASE, WITH A VIEW TO MEASURING THE IMPACT ON GROWTH AND

EMPLOYMENT, IT IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE

AMOUNT OF EUROPEAN FUNDS TO THE COUNTRY’S GNI AND, IN THE CASE OF

THE ERDF, TO THE COUNTRY’S PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENT LEVEL. IF IT IS SO

MEASURED, SPAIN IS NOT AMONG THE COUNTRIES HAVING BENEFITTED THE

MOST.

THE REGIONAL POLICY HAS ALSO PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN SPAIN’S

OUTERMOST REGION –THE CANARY ISLANDS. THE CANARY ISLANDS HAVE

BENEFITTED GREATLY FROM THE DEDICATED OUTERMOST REGIONS FUND

(RUP FUND). FURTHERMORE, WHEN THEY WERE REMOVED FROM THE LIST OF

LEAST DEVELOPED REGIONS AS A RESULT OF I.A. EUROPEAN FUNDS

CONTRIBUTIONS, THE CANARY ISLANDS, LIKE THE REST OF THE OUTERMOST

REGIONS, RECEIVED SPECIAL TREATMENT IN SUCH RELEVANT ASPECTS AS

THEMATIC CONCENTRATIONS AND CO-FINANCING RATES.

Millones

euros

corrientes 2000-2006 (**) 2007-2013 2014-2020

Canarias 2.907,6 1.475,9 2.287,7

España 41.537,2 33.941,0 28.507,3

(*) incluye sólo fondos estructurales, no se incluye el fondo de cohesión,

al no estar "a priori" regionalizado

(**) incluye el FEOGA-O y el IFOP

DATOS DE FONDOS ESTRUCTURALES (*)

BACKGROUND (II)

AN EX ANTE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PERIOD 2014-2020 REGARDING

ERDF IMPACT ON GDP AND EMPLOYMENT GROWTH SHOWS THAT:

IN 2020 THE IMPACT ON THE GDP MULTIPLIER IN THE CANARY

ISLANDS WOULD BE 1.48 PER EVERY EURO INVESTED IN

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ACTIONS; 0.79 IN SMART GROWTH

ACTIONS; AND 0.26 EURO IN INCLUSIVE GROWTH.

AT NATIONAL LEVEL IT WOULD BE 1.33, 0.77 AND 0.26,

RESPECTIVELY.

FOR EVERY MILLION EUROS FROM ERDF FUNDS INVESTED IN

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN THE CANARY ISLANDS, 10 MORE JOBS

ARE CREATED. THEREFORE, IF WE INVEST IN SMART GROWTH

ACTIONS, THE NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED WOULD BE 8-9; IF WE

INVEST IN INCLUSIVE GROWTH, IT WOULD BE 6. AT NATIONAL

LEVEL IT WOULD BE NEARLY 10, 8-9 AND 6, RESPECTIVELY.

THE IMPACT IN THE CANARY ISLANDS IS THEREFORE HIGHER

THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IN GDP TERMS, MOSTLY IN

SUSTAINABLE AND SMART GROWTH; IN EMPLOYMENT TERMS, IT

IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE AVERAGE.

MOVING FORWARD

SPAIN HAS ADVOCATED AND WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR

THE EXISTENCE OF AN OUTERMOST REGIONS FUND (RUP FUND),

HOWEVER, IT WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO STRESS THE DIFFICULTIES

IN PROGRAMMING ACTIONS THAT ARE CO-FINANCED BY THIS

FUND, AS IT IS OFTEN HARD TO MEASURE THE “ADDITIONAL

COST” ENTAILED BY THE CONCEPT OF OUTERMOST REGION.

THAT IS WHY, AS IT GENERALLY DOES FOR COHESION POLICY

ACTIONS, SPAIN ADVOCATES FOR A GENUINE “SIMPLIFICATION” IN

ALL AREAS, INCLUDING PROGRAMMING, AND THE NEED TO MAKE

THE FUND AVAILABLE TO A LARGER NUMBER OF ACTIONS FOR

WHICH THE AFOREMENTIONED “ADDITIONAL COST” IS SOMETIMES

DIFFICULT TO MEASURE.

CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS REMOTENESS, INSULARITY AND/OR

MULTI-INSULARITY, SHOULD BE REASON ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO

INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR CO-

FINANCING.

THE IMPORTANT ROLE PLAYED BY THE COHESION POLICY IN

THESE REGIONS SHOULD ALSO BE HIGHLIGHTED, AS THE

DISADVANTAGES OF BEING AN OUTERMOST REGION MAY BE

BETTER OVERCOME WITH POLICIES LIKE THE COHESION POLICY,

RATHER THAN BY COMPETING IN EUROPEAN EXCELLENCE

POLICIES.

EXAMPLE OF

BEST PRACTICES

EXAMPLE OF A RELEVANT ACTION CO-FINANCED BY THE ERDF,

WOULD BE:

“DIVISEK SYSTEMS, S.L.”, A BUSINESS PROJECT FINANCED BY THE

SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURS, PART OF THE

JEREMIE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT IN THE CANARY ISLANDS”

THE SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURS SEEKS TO

SOLVE A EUROPEAN CHALLENGE, WHICH IS MORE PRESSING IN OUTERMOST

REGIONS SUCH AS THE CANARY ISLANDS: TRANSFORMING THE KNOWLEDGE

GENERATED AT UNIVERSITIES AND PUBLIC RESEARCH CENTERS INTO

SOLUTIONS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO THE BUSINESS WORLD AND ARE APT

FOR THE MARKET, THUS ENHANCING THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE.

THE PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE START OF

OPERATIONS OR INITIAL STAGES OF KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE FIRMS. DURING

THEIR INITIAL STAGES, THESE FIRMS FACE VERY HIGH LEVELS OF

TECHNOLOGICAL RISK AND CANNOT ACCESS TRADITIONAL CREDIT OPTIONS.

EXAMPLE OF

BEST PRACTICES (II)

DIVISEK SYSTEMS, SL IS A R+D+i INTENSIVE FIRM SPECIALIZED IN THE DESIGN OF

EMBEDDED AND POWER ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS, MAINLY FOCUSED ON SMART

WIRELESS CHARGING SYSTEMS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

THE PROJECT IS AIMED AT RESOLVING THE PROBLEM OF CHARGING LITHIUM

BATTERIES IN MORE EFFICIENT AND SMARTER WAYS. IT COMBINES BATTERIES

WHIT CHARGER, WHICH NEEDS FEWER COMPONENTS AND THAT IS WHY THE COST

IS LOWER. IN ADDITION, IT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO SELL BOTH BMS BATTERIES

AND UNIVERSAL CHARGERS.

THIS TECHNOLOGY CAN HAVE MULTIPLE MARKET APPLICATIONS, FROM GROUND

VEHICLES, SUCH AS ROBOTS TO UNMANNED SUBMARINE VEHICLES. HOWEVER,

THE FIRM WISHES TO SPECIALIZE IN DRONES. BUILDING ON THIS TECHNOLOGY,

THE FIRM HAS DESIGNED “SKY-PHI”, A “WIRELESS CHARGING AND SMART

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR BATTERIES FOR DRONES”.

THE FIRM, WHICH WOULD VERY LIKELY NOT EXIST HAD IT NOT RECEIVED FUNDS

FROM THE SUPPORT OF THIS PROGRAM CO-FINANCED BY THE ERDF, MAY HELP

MEET VARIOUS NEEDS IN THE CANARY ISLANDS. THE SKY-PHI SYSTEM WILL MAKE

IT POSSIBLE TO SEMI-AUTOMATICALLY AND QUICKLY CHARGE DRONES

SUPPORTING DOCKING OPERATIONS AT PORTS. IT MAY ALSO BE USED FOR

SURVEYING CLIFFS AND BASINS, SEARCHING FOR PEOPLE OR AS AN EARLY

WARNING SYSTEM FOR FIRES AND PLAGUES IN RELATION TO CERTAIN CROPS. IT

MAY THEREFORE PROVE USEFUL IN PARTICULARLY RELEVANT AREAS IN

OUTERMOST AND/OR INSULAR TERRITORIES.

EXAMPLE OF

BEST PRACTICES (III)

PROGRAMS, SUCH AS THE PROGRAM FOR TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURS,

FURTHER THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BUSINESSES IN THE TERRITORY AND THE

EMERGENCE OF KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY INTENSIVE FIRMS. THEY

ALSO PROMOTE INNOVATION (TURNING PUBLIC R+D RESULTS INTO

ECONOMICALLY PROFITABLE SOLUTIONS) AND PREVENT TALENT DRAIN (BY

PROVIDING A STIMULATING PROFESSIONAL PATHWAY FOR PEOPLE WITH

HIGHER QUALIFICATIONS, IN WHICH GREATER PUBLIC FUNDS HAVE BEEN

INVESTED, SUCH AS FELLOWS AND RESEARCHERS).

IT ALSO BOOSTS THE VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET (AS THIS IS THE NEXT STEP

IN THE NATURAL EVOLUTION OF THIS TYPE OF FIRMS, WHICH WILL REQUIRE

INCREASED FUNDING ONCE THEY PROVE THEIR POTENTIAL AND START

ATTRACTING INVESTORS). ALL THAT LEADS TO THE DIVERSIFICATION OF THE

REGIONAL ECONOMY.

THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE POTENTIAL OF THE COHESION POLICY IN

THE OUTERMOST REGIONS WITHIN A KEY AREA OF THE EUROPE 2020

STRATEGY.

THANK YOU

ÁNGELES GAYOSO RICO SENIOR ADVISOR

DIRECTORATE GENERAL EUROPEAN FUNDS

agayoso@sepg.minhafp.es http://www.dgfc.sepg.minhafp.gob.es