Development issues and Objective 1 structural measures in Portugal. Report

In adopting the report by Mr Giles Bryan CHICHESTER (PPE, UK), the EP considered that, overall, the Structural Funds appropriations earmarked for Portugal have been used without departing from the objectives drawn up in advance and approved by the Community authorities, and that the CSF for Portugal for 1994-99 is part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at consolidating and further improving the achievements of the previous plan. However, in view of the priorities for assistance fixed by the Portuguese Government - which are very ambitious and difficult to achieve - the resolution points out the major difficulties and suggests ways of facilitating the achievement of the objectives set. The EP refers, inter alia, to: - the severe gaps in the education and training sectors, which should be remedied by a larger allocation from the Structural Funds; - the water supply problem, for the solution of which the policy already initiated should be continued, since it had an essential role in improving living standards, though it appeared over-ambitious in relation to the financial resources involved; - the high dependency on energy imports, in particular oil products, which called for a fundamental review of the country's energy supply plans. Finally, the EP noted the existence of worsening regional asymmetries, which intensify the depopulation of the country's outermost and interior regions, and proposed that they be tackled by local development and employment initiatives as well as cross-border cooperation between the eastern and northern Portuguese regions and their Spanish counterparts. �