West Wales is set to benefit from a share of £2bn of EU funding for Wales over the next seven years.

Friday's funding announcement, which will see £1.6bn going to West Wales and the Valleys, could impact on jobs, apprenticeships and business start-ups, Finance and Government Business according to Minister Jane Hutt.

The funding for West Wales and the Valleys region is made up of £960m from the European Regional Development Fund and £642m from European Social Fund, and will be invested to build on the success of projects including apprenticeships, Jobs Growth Wales and Business Start Up to help boost economic growth, jobs and skills.

In addition, rural areas will benefit from a share of just over £520m rural development funding.

Finance Minister Jane Hutt said: "This announcement is a significant milestone with the European Commission confirming Structural Fund allocations to Wales of some £2bn. This is great news for Wales and this new EU funding will have a real impact on the Welsh economy and job creation. It will help us deliver more innovative and inspiring EU-funded projects.”

“I am now expecting both the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund programmes for West Wales and the Valleys and for East Wales to be approved very shortly. This will allow us to start delivering on our shared goals across Government for sustainable economic growth and jobs.”