The New Eu'S Financial Perspective: Implications For Galicia

The financial perspectives are the budgetary reflection of the European Union’s political objectives in the medium term and, in turn, roughly determine the distribution of Community income and expenditure by country. This article seeks, firstly, to establish the European Union’s priorities, based on the financial perspectives for the 2007-13 period, and, secondly, to estimate their possible consequences for Spain and Galicia. The study shows that national interests took priority over Community concerns in approving these perspectives; whilst the political objectives set are highly ambitious, their budgetary reflection is extremely conservative, offering merely more of the same. Spain achieved a satisfactory outcome from this process, however with a continuing positive fis cal balance, the renewal of the Cohesion Fund and only a gradual reduction in aid to regions no longer eligible under Objective 1. Moreover, Spain was able to make technological innovation part of the cohesion debate, ensuring that this was reflected in the budget, as well as securing greater Community involvement in immigration issues. However, success for both Spain and Galicia with regard to the current perspectives will depend, to a large extent, on the internal measures taken to ensure that they benefit from the new opportunities presented by the new situation within the European Community.