YES Orkney has revealed the pictures of their EU logo competition!
The public were invited to look out for the EU flag on buildings and infrastructure projects across the islands, which benefited significantly over the years from European Regional Development Fund grants.
The pictures collected are being displayed today at Orkney’s main agricultural event of the summer, the County Show.
We have been told “there will be a fitting prize” for the winner who can come up with the most examples of EU logos and their locations around Orkney...
Last year it was estimated that Orkney had lost out on around £620,000 as UK government replacement funds fell short of replacing EU funding.
Robert Leslie, who helped organise the competition alongside his wife Kara, Mike Robertson, and Fiona MacInnes, said: “Given our local council's breakaway ideas, I think highlighting how much we gained from the EU as a community is important as a reminder to folk!”
The group are displaying the entries on show display boards and feature community building, piers, public paths, and local projects.
When the UK Governments Shared Prosperity Fund was announced in late 2022 short of the £183 million estimated to be an appropriate replacement for EU Structural Funds by £151 million, Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Emma Roddick said: “EU funding has supported infrastructure projects and community initiatives across the country since the 1970s, with Scotland receiving and delivering more than £6 billion of EU Structural Funds.
“Being short-changed again by the Tories, this time to the equivalent of £619 thousand, really adds insult to injury for the people of Orkney.”
