3. 5. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 112/9 
Opinion on the proposal for a Regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1119/78 
laying down special measures for peas and field beans used in the feeding of animals 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 329 of 16 December 1981, page 2. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 11 December 1981 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 43 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 195th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 25 February 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 11 December 1981 for an 
opinion on the proposal for a Regulation amending 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1119/78 laying down 
special measures for peas and field beans used in the 
feeding of animals, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
14 December 1981 instructing the Section for Agriculture 
to prepare an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Agriculture at its 232nd meeting held on 4 and 5 February 
1982 (meeting of 5 February), 
Having regard to the oral report made by the rapporteur, 
Mr Zinkin, 
Done at Brussels, 24 February 1982. 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation instituting a specific action on behalf of 
housing in Northern Ireland within the framework of an integrated operation in Belfast 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 346 of 31 December 1981, page 1. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 3 December 1981 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. Having regard to the discussions at its 195th plenary 
session held on 24 and 25 February 1982 (meeting of 
24 February), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. The Committee approves the Commission's 
proposal. The Committee notes that the method the 
Commission intends to use is that of a monetary 
differential adjustment. This adjusts the aid given, and 
therefore the minimum price to the farmer, to take 
account of the difference between the green rate of 
exchange and the market rate of exchange. 
2. The Committee would ask the Commission to 
consider a system of monthly increments to the minimum 
price paid to the farmer, and consequently to the aid, in 
order to make it worthwhile for the farmer to stock his 
peas and beans and not put them all on the market at 
harvest time. 
The Chairman of 
the Economic and Social Committee 
No C 112/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 5. 82 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 195th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 25 February 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 3 December 1981 for an 
opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation 
instituting a specific action on behalf of housing in 
Northern Ireland within the framework of an integrated 
operation in Belfast, 
Having regard to the European Parliament's resolution of 
19 June 1981 on Community regional policy and 
Northern Ireland, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
14 December 1981 instructing the Section for Regional 
Development to prepare an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to the oral report made by the rapporteur, 
Mr Bornard, and the Section's discussions at its meeting 
held on 5 February 1982, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 195th plenary 
session held on 24 and 25 February 1982 (meeting of 
25 February), 
Whereas Northern Ireland is a peripheral region of the 
Community facing particularly serious economic and 
social problems that are difficult to resolve; 
Whereas the Community has recognized these difficulties 
by granting priority treatment to this region, and can and 
must continue and intensify its efforts to contribute 
constructively to the solution of these difficulties; 
Whereas action to improve housing is an essential 
prerequisite for the success of the Belfast integrated 
operation and for the socio-economic development of the 
entire region, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
The Committee approves the proposal for a Regulation 
'instituting a specific action on behalf of housing in 
Northern Ireland within the framework of an integrated 
operation in Belfast', subject to the general and specific 
comments set out below. 
I. General comments 
1. In general, the Committee is pleased that an 
original solution has been found enabling the Community to contribute to the financing of housing construction in 
Belfast. In the context of the study which it is preparing on 
integrated operations, the Committee has already noted, 
following the visit to Northern Ireland by an ESC 
delegation, that no move to revitalize the economy would 
be viable without an immense effort to improve the 
housing conditions of some 30% of the population. 
Furthermore, in its opinion of July 1981 on the situation 
in the construction sector, the Committee has already 
stressed, among other things, that there are serious 
shortcomings in Community action in the sphere of 
housing construction and has pointed to the need for 
financial support for specific pilot projects and 
programmes in the area of housing construction and 
housing renewal. 
The areas in central and west Belfast with decaying, 
insanitary and in some cases devastated dwellings show 
very high unemployment rates (25% of the male 
population), excessively low incomes, overcrowding and 
extreme poverty and misery. Infant mortality and the 
number of handicapped are also at very high levels. 
Within the framework of the integrated operation the 
Commission has therefore had to tackle the problem from 
its most fundamental aspect by means of a 'specific 
action', and make up for deficiencies in the aid 
instruments that have been available so far to the 
Community (there being as yet no legal basis for aid in this 
sphere from either the Social Fund or the Regional Fund). 
From a more general point of view, the Committee would 
stress that a move to encourage housing construction 
would have a considerable impact on the development of 
overall economic activity and on the reduction of 
unemployment. 
2. The Committee is also gratified that the 
Commission has stressed the importance of the principle 
of additionality in the statement of grounds, in the recitals 
and in the text, i.e. the fact that Community aid must be 
additional to, and not lead to any reduction in, the efforts 
already agreed upon. The United Kingdom Government 
has already endorsed the principle of an 'additional' 
programme, and the Committee would stress that the 
United Kingdom Government should at least maintain its 
present efforts. 
3. While recognizing that it is very difficult to quantify 
the amount of aid to be given to meet considerable needs, 
the Committee approves immediate allocation of the total 
sum of 28 million ECU to housing in Belfast and regrets 
that the budget finally adopted provides for only 16 
million ECU for this 'specific action' within the 
3. 5. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 112/11 
framework of the integrated operation. It calls upon the 
budget authority to restore the initial appropriation. 
In its opinion on the proposed amendments to the ERDF 
Regulation, the Committee should examine the case for 
adding to the legal basis laid down in Article 29 for 
integrated operations,, by making provision in the 
Regulation for a specific budget heading not only for 
studies and administrative expenses but also for all 
necessary operations that are not covered by the 
Community's financial instruments (e.g. housing). 
II. Specific comments 
1. Article 1, in conjunction with Article 4, raises the 
question of deadlines. If the first instalment is to be 
granted in 1982, and if the Commission has to decide 'at 
the beginning of 1982' the amount of the contribution 
upon examination of the programme, it would perhaps be 
as well to specify in Article 1 that the United Kingdom 
must submit the pluriannual programme 'within 30 days 
after the date on which this Regulation comes into force'. 
This is not an excessive requirement, considering that 
there is already, in addition to a development programme 
drawn up at national level, a very precise operational file 
relating to the Belfast integrated operation. 
2. The Committee is pleased that Article 2 deals with 
the question of infrastructure 'linked closely' to the action 
on behalf of housing. This covers associated works that 
are immediately necessary, such as roads and water and 
electricity supply. 
The Committee notes that new dwellings must be built, 
but aid for the renovation of old dwellings should not be 
ruled out. Political and religious divisions have led the 
inhabitants to form very strong attachments to certain 
districts, and experience has shown that they will refuse 
to leave these districts, even temporarily. The Committee 
would therefore stress that the proposed action must not 
slow down or curtail the renovation of old dwellings, as 
this is a measure which, in Belfast in particular, is 
basically just as necessary as the construction of new 
housing. 
To take account of these circumstances, the Committee 
would particularly stress the need for an effort directed 
towards the most disadvantaged people and concentrated 
on the least favoured areas, to be determined in close 
consultation with the interested parties. The Section 
would emphasize the importance of linking the 
Done at Brussels, 25 February 1982. construction or improvement of dwellings with a policy 
of fixing rents at a level that can be afforded by the people 
for whom the dwellings are intended. 
3. In the light of the visit to Belfast, the Committee 
notes that if action for rehousing the population is to be 
effective and make a lasting impact, a number of 
conditions will have to be fulfilled. It would therefore also 
stress the need for housing construction programmes to 
be placed in the broader context of improvement of the 
environment in which people live; aid for this could be 
provided by various Community instruments. It is mainly 
a question of: 
— medical and hospital facilities, including special 
services in the area of post-natal care, paediatrics and 
retraining of the handicapped, 
— schools and creches, 
— sports and leisure activity centres, which might seem 
secondary, but are of capital importance in an 
environment such as Belfast, where they form one of 
the few possible meeting places for young people who 
have been placed in opposite camps as a result of the 
day-to-day strife; 
— street lighting and lighting in other public places, 
which should be particularly well planned - and 
receive continuous maintenance — throughout the 
Belfast area. 
4. Article 5 states that 'payment of advances and the 
outstanding balance shall be credited to the agency 
responsible for implementing the programme', but does 
not specify the agency. The Committee suggests that this 
task be entrusted initially to the Northern Ireland 
Housing Executive, since the operations will not 
necessarily be confined to the Belfast area. 
5. As regards the use of the funds that could be 
assigned by the EEC to the improvement of housing, the 
Committee would stress that a dynamic policy on 
construction and employment cannot be achieved simply 
by granting public bodies subsidies for the building of 
moderate-rent housing. 
The Committee would therefore ask that thought be 
given to other ways of using Community funds that 
would provide a stimulus, after the example of the ECSC 
projects, with low-interest loans for EEC citizens or for 
firms carrying out housing programmes for their 
employees. 
The Chairman of 
the Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE