The funds of the second objective are available for the 168 richest regions, representing 318 million inhabitants. In this context, Västra Götaland and Halland make up Western Sweden, which is one of the regions eligible for these funds.
The purpose is to strengthen the regions’ competitiveness and employment opportunities; hence the second objective of the Cohesion Policy is the Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective. It covers 16% of the Cohesion budget, and the approach is two-fold.
First, development programmes will help regions to anticipate and promote economic change through innovation and the promotion of the knowledge society, entrepreneurship, the protection of the environment and the improvement of their accessibility. Projects to this end may be partly financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERUF).
Second, more and better jobs will be supported by adapting the workforce and investing in human resources. The European Social Fund (ESF) is available to projects for this purpose.