The European Commission does not like member-states trying to change structures to go "subsidy shopping", the EU Regional Commissioner, Ms Monika WulfMathies, said yesterday.
She was speaking on RTE radio's News at One on reports that the Government hoped to retain top-level EU structural funding for 13 counties in the west, midlands and Border areas.
Asked if she had received any formal notification from the Government that it intended to come to the EU with a new approach to these regions, she replied: "No, neither formal nor informal."
She said: "First of all, I would like to say that we don't like member-states to try to change structures in order to go subsidy shopping. If structures are being changed, they have to be based on strong grounds, for instance on devolution
. . . and they have to be comparable to the structures that are already in place.
"There ought to be a reason for change and they needed to look at the reasoning to see whether it was compatible with structures elsewhere."
Ms Wulf-Mathies said she hoped the decisions on structural funds would be taken in March.
It was put to her that the Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr David Trimble, was going to Brussels in November and that he and other members of the Assembly would be lobbying the Commission for top-level status for Northern Ireland.
"I think we will welcome very much the visit from the new authorities in Northern Ireland and we have every reason to encourage them in their work as we have done in the past but, as you know, we have to respect general proposals and we have to look at the situation.
"Since I always have been very much involved in the process of peace and reconciliation, then it is in my interest to make sure we continue to be present and show solidarity with the people in the country and especially the people on the ground who have suffered so much."