THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) has decided that its Northern Ireland Task Force should continue to operate to help promote peace and prosperity.
However, the commission is to reject a Northern Irish request to set up a new EU agency for conflict resolution in the region.
The recommendations are contained in a memorandum from commission president José Manuel Barroso, which will be published this week along with the task force's first report on the North.
"Given the positive results obtained so far in terms of involving the region in the different EU programmes, initiatives and networks, and given the specific needs of the region in consolidating the remarkable achievements in relation to peace and reconciliation . . . it is envisaged that the task force will continue to operate," it says.
The task force was set up by the president following his visit to Belfast in May 2007. It has a remit to: support the Northern Ireland Executive to modernise its economy and generate more growth and jobs by helping politicians access EU funds and initiatives.
Its first report contains an analysis of the socio-economic situation in the region, which concludes the economy is performing relatively well in comparison to other EU regions. But it also notes it bears the imprint of a long period of social unrest including: a "high dependence on the public sector; relatively high levels of economic inactivity; a relatively high proportion of school leavers with no, or very limited, qualifications; and the consequences of past under-achievement in renewing certain infrastructures".
The report also identifies an inclination against risk taking in Northern Ireland, a low level of entrepreneurship and the negative image of the region held by investors as a result of the years of conflict, according to a draft seen by The Irish Times yesterday.
In its first year of operation the task force has resulted in exchange of officials between the Northern Irish executive and the European Commission, which has helped to boost contacts and identify opportunities to access EU funding programmes. It has also boosted the administration's confidence in liaising with the Union, concludes the report. An early example of this was a call for tender under the EU's transport funding scheme in which previous administrations had expressed relatively limited interest. By bidding for support, the region secured an EU grant of €10.64 million and €42 million in advance funds.
It also notes that the authorities in Northern Ireland have asked for a proposed new centre for conflict resolution in the region to have a "form of recognition at the EU level". The commission says it recognises the potentially valuable contribution which experience of the peace process could make in conflict prevention and peace building in other parts of the world. It says it will continue dialogue with the authorities, but it is understood a request for full EU agency status is likely to be rejected by the commission.