Edinburgh Will Lose Out On Over £670 Million Of Funding When UK Leaves EU

A new publicly accessible database (www.myeu.uk) has laid bare the financial impact that leaving the EU will have on areas around the UK, with the Edinburgh area facing losses to funding of over £36,460,000. The figures show that the EU has invested over £670 million in the capital, including a staggering £464 million investment to support 1059 research projects around Edinburgh. Erasmus+ (£87 million) and SFC Youth Employment Initiative (£28 million) are also amongst many projects benefitting from EU funding.

Last week, the SNP announced that up to £18 million of European cash would be used by the Scottish Government to set up an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to help small and medium sized businesses.

The EU invests around £5billion a year in the UK and the Edinburgh area alone receives more than 10% of that total funding.

Commenting SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald, said:

“As these figures show, Edinburgh has benefitted hugely from the strong relationship between Scotland and the European Union. The Edinburgh area alone receives more than 10% of the total EU funding to the UK.

“EU funding has made a huge contribution to infrastructure, culture, and opportunities in Scotland. This is just the latest analysis which confirms that Brexit is going to inflict major harm on our city.

“The Universities in Edinburgh, and right across Scotland, are renowned for the research that they undertake. In Edinburgh, that research is supported by £464 million of EU funding which we are now at risk of losing.

“Far from delivering extra cash for the NHS, as was infamously promised by the leave campaign bus, Scotland faces losing out on billions of pounds of funding with no clarity from the UK government over how this will be replaced.

“We are being dragged out of the European Union against our will, and Edinburgh will be hugely damaged because of this. The only solution is to stay in the single market and customs union.”