10. Calls on the Member States and regional and local authorities to ensure that, in accordance with a specific territorial assessment giving due weight to cross-border cooperation, airports are included in regional spatial development plans and taken into account in regional development strategies – particularly in connection with integrated sustainable mobility plans – and, where appropriate, in existing and future macro-regional strategies; invites the Member State authorities to consider the importance of regional airports in the context of negotiating their future operational programmes;

12. Doubts whether specific operational programmes for functional geographical entities such as groups of authorities including local areas, or sea or river basins will yield additional benefits, in particular in cases where there are no political authorities (including democratically elected authorities) with a sufficiently wide-ranging remit to implement them; calls instead for closer coordination of macroregional, metropolitan regional or environmental-geographic strategies at inter-governmental level and for appropriate consideration to be given to these functional geographical entities within national operational programmes in orde ...[+++]r to facilitate the use of EU funding for interregional development projects; considers that specific operational programmes should be an option for delivery in regions where sub-regional delivery provides added value vis-à-vis national and regional programmes and where partnerships have been formed by political bodies for implementation purposes; calls for cross-border groupings to be involved in devising the operational programmes for cross-border programmes, on the basis of the EGTC Regulation;

Mr Joaquin Almunia, European Commissioner, and Mr Philippe de Fontaine Vive then presented the policy paper prepared jointly by the European Commission and the EIB on FEMIP’s activities since the Facility was set up in 2002 and on the operational and institutional improvements to be made to it.

This operational programme has the following development priorities: a) "Improved communications" comprising measures covering the construction, improvement and widening of roads in the Guadalhorce valley and access to the Technology Park. b) "Industry, crafts sector and business services" which will cover the development and improvement of the Technology Park and financial support for the technological modernization of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The operational programme includes three priorities for assistance: - improvement of business support infrastructure, including the provision of fully-serviced sites for industrial and particularly craft activities, the provision of industrial premises and general facilities for the marketing and promotion of quality products from local industry and craft firms; - development and strengthening of SMEs through assistance for investment and the upgrading of business advisory services and technology transfer; - environmental improvement, with emphasis on facilities for the collection and treatment of industrial waste.

The operational programme contains five priorities: - development of technological innovation: technological laboratories to be managed by a regional agency for innovation, a data communications network (the Ithaca project) and a technology park (on Lake Maggiore); - development of tourist potential: specific tourist infrastructures, assistance for tourist businesses, and campaigns to promote tourism; - development and strengthening of SMEs: assistance for investment by small and medium-sized industrial firms, specific guarantee funds to increase credit facilities for SMEs; - environment and site reclamation: reclamation of rundown industrial sites and co ...[+++]nstruction of facilities for the collection and treatment of industrial waste; - establishment of business support facilities, involving the creation and enlargement of industrial and craft estates.