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In 1986, Catalonia joined the European Economic Community. This gave rise to opportunity and guaranteed Catalonia's future yet was also a challenge because the rest of Europe had a higher standard of living and a more competitive economy.
Being in Europe has provided great impetus to the transformation of Catalonia and its role as a driving force for the Spanish and European economy. It has meanwhile enabled us to show our country's economic and human potential in the construction of twenty-first century Europe.
The balance for these years is positive. Catalonia has grown and has equalled the standards of living of the rest of Europe: in 1986, GDP per capita in Catalonia stood at around 85% the community average, while in 2003 it had risen to around 101%. This has occurred despite the fact that Catalonia, according to some studies on financial flows with the European Union, has to date been a European Union net contributor and has provided more resources than it has received directly in European expenditure policies. In recent years, Catalonia has thus contributed an annual average of 0.26% of its GDP to the EU.
The CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and the European regional policy are the two main channels by which European resources are returned to Catalonia. Our country has taken part in the European Union's regional and cohesion policy and has received Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds. These have helped to correct economic imbalances, to modernise the country and to drive it towards the future.
In this period, Catalonia has shown its capacity to manage efficiently the resources assigned to it by the European Union. Good planning and management of public authority initiatives mean full advantage has been taken of investments and the best results have been achieved in the areas in which these resources have been used.
Today, Catalonia views its future within Europe confidently, while it continues to progress in its defined growth areas within European structural policy. These include an improvement in business competitiveness, an improvement in the natural environment and water resources, a development of the society of knowledge and of information, an enhancement of human potential in research, science and technology, the establishment of denser communication and energy networks, and local and urban development. These are core action areas or tools aimed at producing better territorial balance and progress in the population's quality of life and wellbeing. In all these projects, European Funds and the management thereof play an important role.
This report features a summary of the main characteristics of the European Union's structural and cohesion policy in the 2000-2006 period and how these funds are used in Catalonia. It may thus publicise the way in which European structural policy is applied and provide information that may be useful to people and institutions interested therein.
Antoni Castells
Minister of Economy and Finance
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