ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(81)637
Vol.1981/0192

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(81)637 final
Brussels,23October1981
7
Mandateof30may1980:
MEDITERRANEAN PROGRAMMES
linesofaction
./
J
(Comunication fromtheCommissiontotheCouncil)
COM(81)637final

MEDITEERMEAU PROGRMKESUKi*V>o T
Lmes ofaction– '■ |- -,
\
1.Restating itscommitment regarding thepresentation ofCommunity
programmes fortheMediterranean regions ,theCommission feels that
atthis stage itshould specify further the fundamental lines ofaction
toheadopted .Itaffirms itsintention todraw upthese programmes
inclose cooperation with thenational andregional authorities of
theMember States inquestion andtopresent them before the endof1982 .
2.Thebalanced development oftheCommunity presupposes vigorous action
enabling the least developed regions tominimize the extent towhich they
arelagging behind .TheMediterranean regions areinaspecial
situation which ,inaddition totheir level ofdevelopment ,hastodo
with thespecific nature oftheir economies.' Because ofstructural
andnatural characteristics they have benefited less than others from
theprocess ofEuropean integration andCommunity policies .Moreover ,
these regions areparticularly exposed tothecurrent enlargement
exercise andfuture developments inMediterranean policy ,
3.These observations underscore the interdependence between the
"catching^up policies "forthese regions andother Community policies
V:
andtheneed forcoherent overall action bytheCommunity fThecoherence
ofsuch action must also ,inorder tosupport them ,integrate the
policies which theMember States concerned will bepursuing inorder
todevelop theregions inquestion orprepare them fortheimpact of
current policies which mayaffect them .
Thecontribution which theCommunity canmake towards solving the
problems ofthese regions will also beexpressed bytheimplementation
ofintegrated programmes .This programming will cover :
–thenecessary link between Community andnational action ;

-2-
–theintegration 01possibleEsasurestoservethechosenpolicy
objectives.
Itwillthusaimtoachievemaximumeffectiveness "bystrengthening
interaction®
Theseprogrammeswillbeformulatedwithreferencetothespecific
natureandpotentialoftheMediterranean regions,payingattentionto
theprotectionoftheenvironment andbringingtogetherinharmonyall
theavailablemeanstoachievetheobjectiveof"catching–up".
4.Thetwoobjectivesunderlying arsyactiontohelptheseregionsmust
betoincreasepeople'sincomesandimprovetheemployment {situation.
Agriculturestilloccupiesapredominant placeasregardsregionalGHP
formationandemployment.Itsuffersfromconsiderable handicaps
connectedwiththenaturalconditionsofproduction,structuraldeficiencies
andthenatureoftraditional productsthemarketforwhichisdifficult
tocontrol.Theemploymentsituationisveryalarming,giventhe
highlevelofunderemployment inagriculture combinedwithanunemployment ,
ratewhichisactuallyoneofthehighestintheCommunity.
Theimprovement ofstructures,whichwouldhavearapideffecton
agricultural incomes,,islimitedintheimmediatefuturebythefactthat
itisimpossibletoincreasethestrainontheemploymentmarket,which
wouldbeunabletoabsorbthelabourreleasedfromagriculture ,atleast
untiljob–creationmeasureshadbornefruit.Theprocessofincreasing
incomebyintensifying productionandlookingforalternative products
■canbecontinued.AsregardsMediterranean products,however,such
intensification shouldnotgeneratestructuralexcesses,havingregard
alsototheprospectsconnectedwiththeenlargement oftheCommunity.
Asregards"non-Mediterranean "products,whichoccupyalargepartofthe
landandemployalargeproportionoftheagricultural workforceand
thereforeplayafundamentalroleintheagriculture oftheseregions,
suchintensification islimitedbythenaturalandmarketconditions.

TheCominvuriitywillhaveto"Sake"twotypesofactiom
–sectoralmeasuresaimedatstimulatingthepotentialoftheseregions;
-"horizontal"measurestoenhancetheircapacityforadjustment,in
particular "byattractinginvestmentandmakingsuchinvestment
profitable. ,
6.Thepreponderance ofagriculture meansfirstofallthattheaction
alreadyundertakeninthissectormustbepursuedasthisactionhas
insomecasesnotyetbornefruit.
Thesituationinagriculturecallsforactionbothwithintheframew >rk
ofmarketorganizations andthatofstructures.Theobjectivemust
beequivalence ,intheeffectsofthe"CAP,betweentheregionsofthe
Community,accountbeingtakenoftheirindividualcharacter.
Asfarasmarketmeasuresareconcerned,thefollowingcanbeenvisaged:
-encouragement cfsubstitutelinesofproductionandana,ll-outsearch
forpossiblecomplementarities (newvarietiesoffruitandvegetables,
afforestation ofalargepartoftheavailableland);
–an"image"policygivingprecedenceto"naturalproducts!';
-measurestostimulateconsumption ;
–improvedapplication ofCommunitypreferenceandamoreeffective
exportpolicy'-. '>
Insofarasstructuresareconcernedimprovingtheorganization of
productionimpliesnotablyimprovingtheorganization ofthefarming
profession.Itwillalsobenecessarytoconcentrate onmarketing
/
structuresandaimatmakingiteasierforolderpeopletogiveup
farmingastheywillnotimposeanyadditionalstrainonthelabour
market,andataidingincomesdirectlyuntilsuchtimeastheemployment
situationisimprovedviathedevelopmentofotheractivitiesandthe
rationalization ofagriculture canthusbeintensified.

7.Intheforefrontoftheseotheractivitiesistheagri-foodstuffs
se<3torrwhoseestablishment closetotheBoursesofagricultural production
should "beencouraged,togetherwithacontractualpolicyguaranteeing
'processors' suppliesandproducers *incomes.Tfte"fisheriessector
alsooffersopportunities throughimprovementofthestructuresof
fis&iftgitself,chilling,freezingandprocessing,tlie;developmentof
'ai^uaicvdiuxe aiidof"biologicalrestockingzones../Thedevelopment of
tourism,particularlyinruralareas,andofCrafty'activitieswould
createjobs,particularly complementary jobscompatiblewiththe
continuation ofpart-timeagricultural ,activity.Thoughtheyarepoor
intraditional sourcesofenergy,theseregionsarewellplacedforthe
development ofnewformsofenergysuchassolar,biomassandgeothermal
energy,thepromotionofwhichrequirescapital,initiatives and
know–hownot.possessedbymostoftheseregions.
Mostof.thesemeasuresarewithinthescopeoftheSME,whicharealso'
atthebasisofthenon–agricultural fabricof-theseregionsandwhich
mustbehelpedtostructurethemselves,expandandequipthemselvesin
sofaraspossiblewithcommoninfrastructure .
8.Toachieveoptimumresultsthemostfavourableconditionsmustbe
createdinordertoattractinvestment.,Inthiscontextcostsand
creditconditionsneedtobeimproved.
Theestablishment ofanadequateframeworkpresupposes ,inadditionto
themeasurestoimproveinfrastructure andproductivity providedfor
above,theeliminationofcertainbottlenecks fromwhichtheseregions
particularly suffer.
Firstofall,anintenseefforttodevelopthetransportandresearch
infrastructure isnecessaryforoptimumexploitation ofpotentialin
thevarioussectors.
Theadaptationofproductionstructuresrequiresalabourtraining
programme.Themanagementcapabilityofthelocalauthorities ,which,
throughthewaytheyoperate,ofteninhibitconsiderably thecapacityto
rr.s-lceuseoftheCommunitymachineryandimplementaid,mustbeimproved.
TI'.sstiiLuic-.tion ofinitiative,whichisoftenlacking,

also depends onagenuine effort "toimprove information flows ,
which theCommunity ,andinparticular theCommission ,isina
position todo.
9. Inorder torealize theintegrated .programmes ,theCommunity •
must mobilize alltheresources andfunds atitsdisposal :the
EAGGF ,particularly theGuidance section ;theEEDF ,"both the "non-quota "
and "quota "sections ;theSocial Fund ,theEIBandETG (theterms
oftheir loans "being softened forcertain types ofoperation ).The
adjustments totheEKDF andtheESPmade orenvisaged will help
tomake these instruments more effective .
Theamount offunds required toenable the Community totake the
action envisaged cannot "bespecified until proposals are
presented concerning theintegrated programmes .These proposals
will reflect thereal needs foradditional Community aid. N
10.This setofmeasures ,ifcarried outrapidly andwith determination ,
should enable theMediterranean areas ofthe^Community tobegin ..
theprocess ofcatching up.This isparticularly justified and
urgent -astheCommunity isupagainst deadlines which mu^t be
respected andwhich will have important consequences for^the (
Mediterranean regions that they must beable tobear for'the benefit
ofallthepartners concerned throughout theMediterranean .