Under-spending by a number of EU member-states on community initiatives has allowed the European Commission to find the money for Northern Ireland's special Peace and Reconciliation programme.
Announcing a deal on the funding sources for some £80 million for the North, the fifth and final phase of the £400 million programme, the Commissioner for Regional Affairs, Ms Monika Wulf Mathies, yesterday said the agreement by member-states to the reallocation was "a heartwarming show of solidarity with the peace process".
