European Structural and Investment Funds in the context of "Cohesion Fund"

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and services of underdeveloped regions. This will allow those regions to start attracting private sector investments, and create jobs on their own.

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs), which are dedicated to improving social cohesion and economic well-being across the regions of the Union. The funds are redistributive financial instruments that support cohesion within Europe by concentrating spending on the less-developed regions.

It is the European Union's main financial instrument for supporting employment in the member states of the European Union as well as promoting economic and social cohesion, created by merging the existing European Social Fund with the EU Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) in 2021. ESF+ spending amounts to around 10% of the EU's total budget. The particular aim of ESF+ spending is to support the creation of more and better jobs in the EU, which it does by co-funding national, regional and local projects that improve the levels of employment, the quality of jobs, and the inclusiveness of the labour market in the member states and their regions.

The economy of Wales is part of the wider economy of the United Kingdom, and encompasses the production and consumption of goods, services and the supply of money in Wales.

On the whole, gross domestic product (GDP) in Wales has increased since 1999, although it remains lower than the UK average. UK government and Welsh government expenditure in Wales has also increased over the same period. Wales has received funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds and the UK government has announced that this funding is being replaced by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, although the Welsh Government has suggested that Wales is receiving less money. Wales has a negative fiscal balance, although all countries and regions of the UK also had a fiscal deficit in 2020/21. The Gross Value Added in Wales has increased since 1998, but per head remains lower than the UK average.

Ireland uses the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) geocode standard for referencing country subdivisions for statistical purposes. The standard is developed and regulated by the European Union. The NUTS standard is instrumental in delivering European Structural and Investment Funds. The NUTS code for Ireland is IE and a hierarchy of three levels is established by Eurostat. A further level of geographic organisation, the local administrative unit (LAU), in Ireland is the local electoral area.

Regional Assemblies in the Republic of Ireland took their current form in 2015. They were established under the Local Government Act 1991, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014. They have two main functions under this statute: to promote the co-ordination of public service provision and to monitor the delivery of European Structural and Investment Funds in the regions.

The Regional Assemblies replaced Regional Authorities, which had been established under the Local Government Act 1991 as enacted and came into existence in 1994. From 1999 to 2014, there were two Regional Assemblies, which existed above the Regional Authority structure.