ABSTRACT
As Gordon Campbell intimated in 1973, Scotland would ‘also’ qualify for EU Funds after the UK joined the EU. Indeed, by the early 1990s 85 per cent of Scotland’s population resided in localities which were eligible for EU funding. At the time this was portrayed as something of a coup by the former Scottish Office, albeit that securing European aid was by no means a novel experience. Between 1975, when the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was established, and 1988, Scotland was assigned £2,594 million from ERDF grants under the quota scheme, much of which was devoted to improvements to the infrastructure. Between 1989 and 1993 the country was allocated £897 million, and a further £1,992 million under the 1994-99 tranche.2 Whilst the amount of monies involved should not be belittled, the fact that Scotland was even entitled to this was indicative of the country’s relative economic under-development.
