COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 20.03.1996 
COM(96) 109 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
COMMUNITY STRUCTURAL ASSISTANCE AND EMPLOYMENT 

COMMUNITY STRUCTURAL ASSISTANCE AND EMPLOYMENT 
Contents 
Page 
I. Analysis and assessment of the impact of structural assistance 
on employment 3 
A. The structuring work of the Funds is essential for the 
creation of lasting jobs 3 
B. An impact on employment which varies depending on 
Objective 8 
C. Quantifying the impact 12 
II. Possible adjustments: doing more for employment within existing 
programming and doing it better 15 
A. Providing the conditions for long-term economic growth 15 
B. Increasing the job-intensity of economic growth 18 
C. Promoting a more active approach to economic and social 
solidarity, including equal opportunities 24 
D. Developing and enriching the partnership in the context of 
structural assistance 26 
Conclusions 29 
Annexes 

COMMUNITY STRUCTURAL ASSISTANCE AND EMPLOYMENT 
BACKGROUND 
The serious employment situation is a central concern of the European Union, where 
the unemployed now number around 18 million. This makes the fight against 
unemployment and the creation of new jobs a first priority for the European 
Community and its Member States. Following the White Paper on "Growth, 
Competitiveness and Employment", the Essen European Council decided to take 
medium-term measures in this field through multi-annual programmes to be defined by 
the Member States. 
In its communication to the Council on action to be taken as a result of the Essen 
summit,1 the Commission stressed the need to ensure consistency between the policy 
decided there and the use to be made of the Structural Funds. Similarly, in its recent 
communication on trends and developments in employment systems in the European 
Union - the European employment strategy,2 the Commission set out its priorities on 
how the Structural Funds could take account of recent developments and prospects in 
employment policy. This report was favourably received at the Madrid European 
Council, which drew particular attention to "the mutually beneficial effects of greater 
coordination of the Union's economic and structural policies." 
With a budget (including the Cohesion Fund) of ECU 170 000 million at 1995 prices 
for 1994-99, the Structural Funds, acting in the context of economic and social 
cohesion, have an important role to play in promoting employment, principally in the 
Member States and regions where they are concentrated, through programming, the 
main responsibility for which lies with the Member States. They provide support for 
medium- and long-term job-creation by improving the match between physical and 
human resources and the operation of the labour market. They also have a short-term 
impact through extra demand for goods and services. 
To offset persistent regional disparities within the Union, the structural policies 
promote the balanced territorial development of the priority regions. The regional 
disparities relating to employment, create too considerable tensions within the Union 
with regional unemployment rates varying from 3.4% to 34.7%, a ratio of 1 to 10 (see 
Annex I). In any case, unemployment statistics should be read in the light of 
employment rates which take account of participation (the percentage of the 
economically active population between 15 and 64 which is in employment), in order 
to reveal under-employment. Here too, there are wide variations, with participation 
rates ranging from 51% to 86.5% (see Annex II), the lowest rates being mainly in the 
south of the Union (Northern Greece, Spain and the Mezzogiorno). 
COM(95) 74 final of 8 March 1995. 
COM(95) 465 final of 11 October 1995. 
2 
Elsewhere, structural policies are contributing to the implementation of active labour 
market policies promoting the integration of young people, the long-term unemployed 
and those threatened with exclusion and the adjustment of the labour force to industrial 
change. 
Through their contribution to promoting employment, structural policies can also help 
foster equal opportunities which, as several European Councils have stressed, are a 
priority for the Union and its Member States. 
I. ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL ASSISTANCE ON 
EMPLOYMENT 
A. The structuring work of the Funds is essential for the creation of lasting 
jobs 
1. In general terms, structural assistance operates in two ways: 
(a) the main thrust, on the supply side: investment part-financed by the 
Structural Funds helps improve the economic performance of the 
productive apparatus by increasing and adjusting supplies of physical 
and human resources which in due course leads to higher employment; 
(b) secondarily, on the demand side: where they have a direct impact on 
income and employment and substantial indirect and induced effects 
arising from higher final demand. These also have leakage effects 
outside the regions assisted which benefit mainly the more developed 
areas. 
More generally, the structural policies may be regarded as one element of the national 
economic policies which they help to part-finance. A typical example is the 
"Gemeinschaftsaufgabe" (joint scheme) in Germany, which is a national scheme of aid 
for regional purposes. 
Macro-economic impact 
Proportion of investment undertaken by the regions concerned 
In terms of gross fixed-capital formation, the proportion of Community assistance devoted to investment 
(principally under the ER0F) accounts for almost Vl% of alt public and private investment in Greece, 
between 8% and 9% in Ireland and Portugal and 7% in the relevant regions Of Spain. These proportions, 
which do not at present include the Cohesion Fund, give a glimpse of the economic impact of the Funds. 
These figures are calculated as a proportion of total investment,- both private and public. AS proportions of 
public investment alone, they become substantial, rising to as much as 50%. 
Impact on growth in the beneficiary Member States 
Initial estimates concerning the CSFs adopted suggest that they have a matted effect'on growth and hence 
on employment. In Portugal and Greece» the additional growth in G0P dae to Community assistance is 
estimated at 0.5% per year (plus an additional 1% generated by the national contribution). This means that 
by 1999 GDP in Portugal and Greece will be 3% higher man if there had been no Community transfers. 
The first results of estimates for Spain and Ireland suggest additional growth in GDP in the regions 
concerned amounting to 0.4% per year (0*7% if the national contribution is included), which means that in 
1999 GDP will be 2% higher than it would have bee» without assistance, 
Naturally, the actual impact on growth will depend to a large extent on the general economic context, 
comprising both the success of macro-economic policies and developments in the world economy. 
Structural assistance employs a range of tools based on measures of three types: 
support for infrastructure, support for the productive sector and the 
development of human resources. 
(a) Infrastructure stimulates growth andjience employment: 
(i) a better standard of infrastructure creates positive externalities 
for private capital (increased productivity and lower production 
costs). This is particularly marked in the least well-equipped 
Objective 1 regions; 
(ii) the impact on employment is generally positive and may be 
broken down into: 
direct effects linked mainly to construction. Such jobs 
are, however, by their nature, temporary and, to some 
extent, filled from outside the région; 
indirect effects related to externalities generated by the 
completion of infrastructure and the amount of use made 
of it. Density of employment is variable. 
Infrastructure 
The major rail infrastructure programmes supported by the ERDF in Italy and Greece will directly create or 
safeguard 37 000 and 11 600 jobs respectively. The indirect impact may be estimated at 57 000 jobs in Italy 
and 7 100 in Greece. The programme for the construction and equipment of 15 hospital centres in the 
Spanish region of Castile-Leon will help create 445 jobs directly. An initial estimate, probably on the 
conservative side, of the impact of infrastructure financed by the Cohesion Fund in 1993 gives a figure of 
40 000 person/years plus 7 500 person/years for the operation of the infrastructure. 
(b) Support for the productive sector 
Aid schemes for firms should be distinguished from indirect assistance 
affecting demand for services: 
(i) The impact of direct aid on employment varies depending on the 
nature of the investment (productivity, capacity, cleaning up 
pollution, diversification), the type of sector (capital-labour 
coefficient) and how firm the commitment to employment is. Its 
main limitation should also be noted: the fact that such aid is 
often automatic means that the employment variable cannot 
always be taken into account in financing decisions. In any case, 
the Structural Funds regulations require these aid schemes to 
seek to create or safeguard permanent jobs and the Commission 
and the Member States are required to check regularly that this is 
being done. Furthermore, a number of direct aids appear to be 
inadequately targeted on growth sectors and benefit large firms 
rather than the small businesses which are often involved in 
technological innovation and job creation while at the same time 
they are often more concerned with physical investment than 
non-material investment. 
Investment aid 
There are legal provisions covering this point in Spain while in Germany and the United Kingdom a positive 
impact on employment is a prime condition of investment aid. On the contrary, investment aid schemes in 
Portugal, and, to a lesser extent in Italy, are more targeted on firms competitiveness and their impact on 
employment is therefore medium term oriented. 
(ii) Business services: these non-material measures provide essential 
support for the productive sector. 
They have a wide-ranging effect on employment by 
increasing the supply of non-material capital and 
increasing the effectiveness and external competitiveness 
of local firms. They may be divided into: 
• advisory and support services, including financial 
engineering mechanisms; 
• services to support innovation, quality and RTD, 
which are particularly vital in the most outlying 
areas and those with low population densities. 
Even though their direct effect on employment remains 
relatively limited in terms of individual economic activity, 
these are often highly skilled jobs offering high added 
value and with substantial general potential, particularly 
as regards the establishment of businesses, the promotion 
of new technologies and closer contacts between research 
centres and businesses. 
Business services 
The goals of the Industry sub-programme in the CSF for Portugal lay particular stress on the provision of a 
complete range of new services to businesses. 
The Objective 2 SPDs in the United Kingdom contain specific measures to support the establishment of 
strategic groups of small firms in key sectors at regional level with stress on the development of small firms 
at local level. 
Objective 6 pays particular attention to the question of support for innovation and RTD. In these areas, 
Finland will devote about 35% of resources to programming of this type. Similarly, the introduction of 
telecommunications into rural areas has enabled certain activities to start up in isolated areas and provided 
them with access to certain services and training offering qualifications (telecottages in the United 
Kingdom). 
By way of example, since it began in 1984 the Community BIC programme, which offers integrated support 
to those establishing small firms, has contributed to the consolidation of some 5 600 firms directly 
generating 27 000 jobs in the Union. 
(c) The development of human resources 
This has a variety of effects on competitiveness, growth and 
employment. These can be better understood if they are looked at in two 
groups: 
(i) investment in human resources through education and training 
provided that the productive sector is able to absorb the labour 
accordingly trained. Such measures increase the productive 
potential of the human element, which is acquiring greater 
importance in the attempts to achieve economic recovery and 
establish a process of growth. The availability of a skilled labour 
force permits physical investment offering greater productivity 
and facilitates the dissemination of new knowledge and 
techniques, which may in turn increase the effectiveness of firms 
and make economies as a whole more competitive. 
Here, the approach adopted by the Structural Funds involves 
improving qualifications adapted to employment by modernizing 
the system of education and initial training and improving the 
opportunities for training throughout working life. 
The Structural Funds also operate to improve human resources in 
the areas of research, science and technology through advanced 
training and the training of managers and technicians in research 
establishments. In the medium and long term, this potential helps 
create new jobs and consolidate those exposed to international 
competition. 
(ii) Active labour market measures which operate both on the supply 
of work, through training measures, and on demand, through 
measures to promote employment. 
Measures in this area help offset rigidities in the labour market 
by providing an appreciable level of support for macro-economic 
policies to strengthen the process of growth. They also operate 
directly on the level of employment by making the least skilled 
section of the population easier to employ. The combination of 
measures to subsidize low wages with those to improve skills 
means that the best possible use can be made of the available 
labour force and the greater social cohesion achieved. 
Human resources 
The CSF for Greece devotes substantial financial resources to the development and modernization of 
systems of education and initial training. The strategy adopted includes the following principal features: 
at secondary level, attention is concentrated on the adaptation of curricula, the promotion of 
technical and scientific subjects and the introduction of computer studies; 
a new role for vocational training and apprenticeship is the priority within the initial training 
system; 
in higher education, the main aim is to modernize the management of universities and strengthen 
their links with the world of work. 
In the area of training to develop human resources, the "Knowledge bases" and "Vocational training and 
employment" programmes will enable Portugal to train 31 200 workers, 4 700 of whom will be in the 
research sector. These measures will also be of particular importance in the Objective 2 areas affected by 
industrial change. 
The urban policy being followed in a number of Member States places particular stress on the area of aid to 
integration. In the Objective 2 areas of France, structural assistance provides support for training and 
employment establishments which seek to centralize services offering information about employment and 
training and guidance facilities for those who are already unemployed. 
In 1989-93 vocational training absorbed about 11 % of the total finance for Objective 5(b) and is expected to 
absorb about 15% in the new period, so permitting the skills of rural workers to be improved and adapted to 
employment in areas such as tourism and the environment which are new for certain regions. 
B. An impact on employment which varies depending on Objective 
The extent of the impact on employment is a function of the intensity and combination 
of assistance, which depend on the light of the initial situation, the Fund Objective and 
the Member State. 
1. The Objective 1 regions, which will eventually account for 70% of Structural 
Fund assistance, seek to give priority to job-creation principally by promoting 
growth to reduce gaps in per capita GNP. This explains the great stress laid on 
the general modernization and upgrading of the productive sector in order to 
improve competitiveness and on the provision of a variety of basic 
infrastructure. In terms of employment, the key feature underpinning this 
approach is the establishment of an economic base for sustainable development 
which will create jobs over the long term using, amongst other means, 
increased education, training, research and technological innovation. 
In the short term, the effect of this approach on employment is less clear-cut 
since it results in the creation of temporary jobs on building sites while also 
destroying jobs in agriculture and traditional sectors through the modernization 
and restructuring of the economy. It is important to note too the contribution 
made by active labour-market policies which seek to make the labour-force 
more employable. 
Objective 1 
The development strategy of the CSF for Ireland seeks to support the exposed sectors of the economy. In 
the long run, this will improve their competitiveness and productive capacity and so create employment. 
Assistance to agriculture and the food industry, the main employer in the country, is designed to safeguard 
employment and raise productivity at the production stage while increasing the number of jobs in the 
downstream sectors of processing and marketing. 
In the case of Portugal, the evolution of the economy will lead to a decrease in the agricultural workforce to 
probably less than 10% by 1999. The programmes part-financed through the Structural Funds shall, among 
other objectives, reduce the negative impacts on employment of this structural adaptation. Along the same 
lines, while, according to the Ministry of Planning, 80 000 jobs were created between 1989 and 1993 as 
direct result of the CSF, total employment remained unchanged at the end of the period, which suggests that 
an equivalent number of jobs were lost in the sectors undergoing restructuring. 
In the Objective 2 areas, which are defined on the basis of criteria mainly 
concerned with employment, the priority is the diversification and revitalization 
of a declining industrial fabric by seeking the most immediate possible impact 
on employment. To the list of such areas should also be added those smaller 
industrialized areas which are eligible under Objective 1 in the United Kingdom 
(Merseyside), Belgium (Hainaut) and France (Nord/Pas-de-Calais), which 
resemble each other closely. 
This means that the instruments used concentrate on support for the productive 
sector and the development of human resources while seeking to make the 
speediest possible impact on employment. 
In providing support for the productive sector, most of the SPDs give priority 
to locally-generated development through job-creation and aid to job-creating 
investment in existing firms. This trend also gives greater scope to the role of 
indirect aid for improving the business environment, as compared with direct 
aid to investment. 
Objective, 2 
The trend of redirecting aid to the productive sector is demonstrated particularly clearly in the programmes 
for the United Kingdom, where the percentage dedicated to support for small firms has increased from 10% 
of total assistance in the previous programming period to 30% now. This has also been accompanied by 
increased part-financing from the private sector. A similar, although less marked, trend may also be 
observed in Germany (SPDs for Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia) and France (SPD for Lorraine, 
which stresses support for innovation, and measures to support business incubators in most SPDs). 
Measures to develop human resources are mainly designed to improve the 
productive base and business management, particularly in small firms. This 
approach should assist the diversification of the economy of the region and 
enable the labour force to adapt to the productive needs stemming from the 
application of new technologies. 
More generally, and this point is linked to the previous one, the very 
considerable reduction in finance for infrastructure (including infrastructure in 
the productive sector) as compared with the previous programming period 
should be noted. There can be no doubt that this improves the cost effectiveness 
of the programmes in employment terms. 
3. In the cases of Objectives 5 and 6. the question revolves mainly around the 
maintenance of activities, employment and population in rural areas, which 
often includes thinly populated areas in need of economic diversification, and 
the fisheries sector. 
It should be noted that the regulations governing Objective 5(a). on the 
modernization of agricultural structures, apply equally throughout the European 
Union. Their adjustment in the light of the new rules governing the Structural 
Funds, which improves links between this Objective and the territorial 
Objectives (particularly as regards integration with Objective 1) and allows 
better account to be taken of new factors such as the environment and the 
diversification of activity in agriculture, is of recent date. 
Each year, assistance of this type contributes to the establishment of some 
15000 young farmers, to whom it provides grants for investments in their 
holdings. Furthermore, 33000 agricultural holdings are improving and 
modernizing their production and working environment every year, so enabling 
family workers to be better employed, creating new jobs and discouraging 
young people from leaving rural areas. 
Compensatory allowances are also important because they ensure an adequate 
income on more than 1 million holdings covering 56% of the area of the Union. 
This too maintains the population of rural areas. 
The food industry is an even more important source of jobs than agriculture 
and, in certain sectors, particularly those concerned with new markets and new 
consumer products, their number may be increased by investment in the 
improvement and processing of agricultural and forestry products. 
In the case of Objectée 5(a) fisheries, the tasks of the FIFG are to reduce the 
fishing effort in terms of the over-exploitation of natural resources and to 
support this sector, which is in a state of severe structural crisis. 
The first category of assistance will inevitably reduce jobs, although this can be 
offset by the supporting measures now having been adopted by the Union. 
These include aid for national early retirement schemes and flat-rate individual 
permanent cessation premiums for younger fishermen. By contrast, the second 
group will increase employment, although it should be stressed that their main 
goal is to improve the competitiveness of the Union's fishing industry. 
Objective 5(a) fisheries 
In the area of processing fisheries products, for example, the FIFG could help create 750 new jobs in Italy 
and 1 100 in Germany by 1999 but its main contribution will be to safeguarding existing jobs, which are 
seriously threatened by the crisis in the sector. 
Similar considerations apply to aquaculture (1 300 jobs expected to be created in Ireland) and to investment 
to modernize the fleet and port facilities. 
In any case, the safeguarding and creation of jobs are linked to support to the productive sector. The Pesca 
Community Initiative, by contrast, concentrates on employment and human resources in coastal areas 
because it can help maintain activity levels in such areas, whether in fisheries or elsewhere. It may finance 
diversification measures for firms and vocational retraining to enable fishermen to pursue other occupations, 
such as tourism or aquaculture, or it may finance training courses to improve either vocational qualifications 
or the general training of sea fishermen. 
Assistance to employment under Objective 5(b) concentrates mainly on the 
diversification of activities. While in the case of agricultural production in the 
strict sens of the term, this is designed to safeguard jobs, mainly by enhanced 
development of local products, the bulk of jobs created have been in other 
activities and sectors, such as tourism, small businesses, services and, more 
recently, the environment. Rural tourism is often of the utmost importance since 
its rapid expansion has resulted in the development of a number of related 
activities. 
10 
Objective 5(b) 
Assistance in the area of the environment is of recent origin and is primarily directed towards reducing 
pollution from agriculture and the food industry (construction of treatment stations at Trento in Italy), the 
purification of water for some hundred municipalities in Limousin (France), the development of organic 
farming in Brittany (France) and the improvement of forested areas in Cantabria (Spain). Alongside this, 
there is now growing emphasis on turning the protected environment to economic use. An evaluation of 
about twenty areas found 1 270 environment-related initiatives which had created a substantial number of 
jobs. 
The renovation and development of villages also constitutes the first stage of a large number of investments 
which so far has had remarkable multiplier effects, mainly in the construction sector and principally in the 
new German Lander. As can also be seen in France, support for tourism forms an essential element in the 
diversification of Objective 5(b) areas. The achievements in this field part-financed by the Structural Funds 
include the rapid development of "nature" tourism (crossing the sands around Mont-St-Michel) and hiking 
and adventure tourism (Stevenson route). 
Similar comments apply to Objective 6, although its programmes are very 
recent. Since areas under Objective 6 are even more thinly populated than those 
under Objective 5(b), expenditure on RTD and the new information and 
communications technologies is an important factor in economic diversification. 
Since their main aim is bring demand into line with supply, and so place people 
in the jobs available, those measures under Objectives 3 and 4 which are most 
oriented towards the labour market are, by their nature, directly linked to 
employment. Assistance under these Objectives applies throughout the Union. 
At present, about 8% of measures under the Funds come under Objective 3. 
They are concerned with the integration of young people (36%), the long-term 
unemployed (40%), those threatened with exclusion (16%) and equal 
opportunities for men and women (5%). 
Objective 3 
Measures under Objective 3 are intended to develop or consolidate national employment policies while 
taking account of regional and local needs. Hence, in the German Lander, structural assistance complements 
measures taken under the law to support employment. It is estimated that some 400 000 people benefit from 
measures receiving part-finance. 
Because of the very high level of youth unemployment in Spain, structural assistance has concentrated on 
the social and vocational integration of this category. In accordance with the Youthstart Community 
Initiative, Community support backs up national efforts to increase the proportion of 16-18-year-olds in full-
time education. 
About 2% of measures under the Funds come under Objective 4 (the adaptation 
of workers to industrial changes). 
11 
Objective 4 
The main beneficiaries in France of assistance under Objective 4 are the least skilled workers who are the 
main victims of industrial change. Preventative measures also provide support for prospective studies of 
branches, support for advisory and diagnostic services to firms and some of the tasks of the regional 
observatories of employment and training. It was also planned that at least 70% of workers benefitting from 
measures under Objective 4 should come from firms employing under 500 people, with particular attention 
being paid to those employing under 250 people. 
The main aim in Denmark is to improve access to continuing training for employees of small firms in order 
to promote the rotation of employment. 
The impact on employment of measures taken under Objectives 3 and 4 can 
only be assessed on a case-by-case basis and using appropriate methodologies. 
However, it may be estimated that some 11 million people will benefit from 
such measures in 1994-99. 
In general, assistance from the Structural Funds under Objectives 3 and 4 is 
handicapped by the unfavourable conditions arising from the weight of massive 
long-term unemployment and the acceleration of economic restructuring, the 
main victims of which are those least able to compete on the labour market. 
Structural measures prove particularly useful in these difficult circumstances. 
The programmes part-financed, which are designed with an eye to both the 
short and the medium term, help strengthen the links between growth and job-
creation and hence reduce the pressure on the most disadvantaged groups. 
Despite the modest resources available, this assistance also exerts a multiplier 
effect on national policies. Active policies at the expense are referred to passive 
income-support policies and good practice enjoys wider circulation through the 
partnerships and networks set up as a result of this assistance. 
The summary tables in Annex III illustrate these developments by showing by 
Member States and for all the Objectives the finance allocated to each of the 
main categories of structural assistance. 
C. Quantifying the impact 
The programming of structural assistance for 1994-99 drawn up through partnership 
reflects the great importance attached to the promotion of employment throughout the 
Union. Through its general and rather indirect effects, it also demonstrates the 
difficulties inherent in a firm commitment to quantified employment objectives. 
1. Programmes often include a lot of data on employment which demonstrate, 
particularly for the assisted regions, the extent of the concerns for this area felt 
by those responsible at national and regional level. 
However, the available information tells us more about the difficulties both of 
maintaining employment as a target and of estimating employment effects than 
about the total impact that can be expected. This derives from a lack of 
consensus, either at methodological or operational level, on how to calculate 
employment effects. Thus, for example, in region A a measure such as 
12 
'reclaiming and improving industrial sites' might be forecast to create 30 jobs 
per million ecus invested, while in region B a similar measure might anticipate 
300 jobs per million ecus. 
The difference does not necessarily have anything to do with the efficiency of 
the respective programmes, but rather with the types of jobs that are being 
counted. For example, in one case only jobs involved in the actual work of 
clearing the site might be calculated; in another, those temporary jobs might be 
excluded but all employment created by companies occupying the newly cleared 
zone might be estimated. 
It is therefore necessary to appreciate the different ways in which jobs can be 
created by the Structural Funds, and also the various ways in which the total 
might be over- or under-estimated (in this regard it will be necessary to develop 
for the future a methodology for forecasting job creation). Briefly, jobs may be 
created by the implementation of measures 
the workforce directly involved in clearing the site, building the road, 
delivering the training 
as a direct outcome of the measure e.g. new staff operate equipment 
purchased with financial assistance, staffing of a tourist attraction...; 
as an indirect or induced outcome (jobs created by the new purchasing 
power delivered by the Funds, new companies created thanks to the 
improved business climate or skilled labour resources). 
The calculation of this indirect effect is a most difficult exercise as it requires 
an identification of the impact of non-Structural Fund related factors on job 
creation. 
For these reasons, and especially because there is no standard methodology, the 
information provided is fairly disparate and so unsuitable for systematic 
treatment. 
The SPDs for Objectives 2 and 5(b) suggests that 650 000 and 518 000 jobs respectively will be created 
over the period but these figures should be treated with the greatest caution due to the relative importance of 
the displacement and deadweight effects in those areas. 
2. In response to this situation, the Commission has launched a series of studies 
intended to lead to a rapid improvement in our understanding and calculation of 
employment effects. 
The important macro-economic impact of the Union's structural transfers, 
particularly in those Member States most fully covered by Objective 1 (E, EL, 
I, IRL, P) has a direct effect on employment.* Where Objective 1 applies to 
whole countries, or at least to major economic regions, 'top down' analyses, 
based on the macroeconomic relationships of the economy, are employed. 
While subject to a number of limitations, based particularly on the 'static' 
nature of the relationships used as assumptions, these techniques can give broad 
brush estimates of the employment and income effects of structural assistance. 
13 
Independent analyses for the period 1994-99 suggest that implementation of the CSFs will create about 1.2 
million jobs (4.1% of the active population) in all the Objective 1 regions. In the case of Portugal, for 
example, this figure is 190 000 jobs per year, for Spain 220 000 jobs per year, for Greece 260 000 jobs per 
year and for the new Lander 160 000 jobs per year. However, only some of these jobs will be new, hence 
the disparities with the estimates provided by the Member States. These do have the advantage of providing 
a uniform and comparable assessment of the impact of Community assistance on the labour force deployed 
in these Member States. 
This consideration of current programming shows where improvements can be 
proposed, particularly to the Monitoring Committees, along the lines of the 
Commission's communication on a European strategy for employment. Such 
improvements include adjustment of both the content of and procedures for assistance 
while respecting the guidelines already agreed. To achieve this, all available scope for 
manoeuvre (the "deflator" effect, adjustments within programmes within the powers of 
the Monitoring Committees, etc.) will be used and attention paid to improving links 
between macro-economic effects and the actual areas they affect. 
14 
II. POSSIBLE ADJUSTMENTS: DOING MORE FOR EMPLOYMENT WITHIN EXISTING 
PROGRAMMING AND DOING IT BETTER 
The task of the Structural Funds is to support economic and social cohesion within the 
Union. The first consideration is therefore to provide the conditions for strong 
sustainable growth which takes account of increased international competition and the 
growing pace of technological change. However, while such growth is essential, it is 
not of itself sufficient to find a solution to the employment problem: efforts must also 
be made to increase the employment content of growth. The currently unacceptable 
practice of work sharing reflected in low activity rates and high unemployment must be 
replaced by arrangements which ensure full participation in work and mobilize the full 
potential of our economy. This will promote greater solidarity in the economy and 
society and a more active approach to employment. 
The aim is therefore to work within current programming to seek adjustments which 
can increase the impact on growth and the impact of growth on employment. This 
means concentrating on using the scope for manoeuvre and flexibility available within 
current programming in order to pursue the following goals: 
A. Providing the conditions for long-term economic growth 
1. The first priority is to ensure that due importance is given to non-material 
investment, a form of investment which has become a major source of 
economic growth. The stress laid by the Structural Funds on promoting 
research, development and the organization of businesses, particularly small 
businesses, open to innovation and the constant improvement of human 
resources through education and training represent a vital contribution to the 
development and dissemination of new technologies and forms of production. 
(a) Investment in human resources is a vital component of non-material 
investment and so should be accorded pride of place3. Current 
circumstances suggest that stress should be placed on the following 
priorities: 
increasing supply in order to guarantee all young people access 
to education and initial training. The Structural Funds should 
play an important role here, particularly in the less-favoured 
areas of the Union; 
fostering an integrated education and training system throughout 
working life; 
This has been a permanent approach in the White Papers on Growth, Competitiveness, 
Employment, on Social Policy and on the Learning Society. 
15 
adapting the structures and content of education and training to 
the needs generated by economic and technical changes. This 
presupposes the adaptation of curricula, the establishment of 
links between schools and the world of work (apprenticeships, 
stimulating the growth of an entrepreneurial spirit,...) and 
encouragement for training organized by firms; 
encouraging public and private investment in education and 
training and creating appropriate structures to ensure that such 
investment is profitable. 
(b) These developments also make improved business support services, 
particularly for small firms, highly desirable. National and regional aid 
schemes part-financed by structural assistance could give firmer support 
to demand for quality services by small firms, a category of business 
which has a large degree of flexibility in organizing its production. Still 
more important is the need to seek integration in providing support for 
the offer of such services. 
While a large number of structures providing services for small 
businesses have developed in regions, particularly over the last ten 
years, which has resulted in the proliferation at local level of 
comparatively specialized and often competing bodies, heads of firms 
still have considerable problems in securing general advisory services 
which could then, in the light of their needs, direct them towards 
specific services. The Commission has recently launched a number of 
pilot projects to provide assistance at regional level for preparation of a 
strategy to support innovation and technology in small firms (Regional 
Innovation Strategies: RIS). These entail analysis of the supply of 
support services, comparisons between them and their adaptation to suit 
the varying needs of small firms while also promoting a single access 
point (development agencies, chambers of commerce, BICs, technology 
centres and the like) or contact point (Euro Info Centres - EIC) for these 
services under one roof and organized in the form of a regional network. 
Furthermore, the advisory nature of such services is not usually 
coordinated with the financial aspect, which substantially reduces their 
effectiveness. The under-capitalization of small firms is a critical point 
from which stem the bulk of their problems as regards ability to 
continue, develop and operate internationally. 
The Commission therefore advocates the systematic integration of 
financial services, seed capital, risk capital and other forms of financial 
engineering, into the advisory and support structures for small firms. 
International marketing also represents an important element for the 
development of small firms. 
16 
Measures to support technological innovation must also be given particular 
attention. A series of Community programmes to this end is already under way 
and discussions have begun on the basis of the Green Paper on innovation 
which the Commission adopted on 20 December 1995. 
We must take energetic measures to meet the challenge of the information 
society. More should be done in the way of regional and Community 
development planning to prepare for technological developments and not merely 
submit to them passively. 
Telematic services and applications now offer the technical potential for a rapid 
and high-quality response to individual requirements offering lower prices for 
private persons (telemedicine, education and training, trade, reservations, etc.), 
employees (teleworking), business and industry and local authorities. 
These new technologies are certainly not an unmixed blessing for the 
employment situation where they are used to rationalize and automatize tasks 
previously done by people. Be that as it may, their arrival is inevitable and so 
supporting measures should be prepared well in advance. If those measures are 
successful, the new technology can also create opportunities by: 
opening up and expanding outlets and know-how in the least developed 
areas (Objectives 1 and 5(b)) and the most remote areas (Objective 6): 
examples of this are teleworking, and the improvement in quality made 
possible by medical telediagnosis; 
customizing and improving access to training, in particular for Objective 
2, 3 and 4 areas: constant updating of knowledge and adjustment of 
programmes to specific needs are major advantages in a rapidly 
changing world; 
in general, increasing the amount of free time: the gains in productivity 
the new technologies bring with them will, ultimately, mean a reduction 
in working hours, which can only be a good thing for the new sources 
of employment in the services sector. 
These are the aims of the Community pilot measures in support of the 
information society recently launched under the IRIS Initiative and of the pilot 
projects under Article 10 of the ERDF Regulation and Article 6 of the ESF 
Regulation. 
17 
Information technologies 
It is worth mentioning here some experience and orientations from various programmes: in Limousine and 
Aquitaine (France), telesecretarial services have been developed and, in on a larger scale, Sweden and 
Finland new methods of work, training and education are receiving Structural Funds support. 
The British "knowledge-based industry" programmes and programmes for the integration of tourism, 
culture and media industries provide examples to be followed, as does the support in France for research, 
development and technology in SMEs in pursuit of "regional excellence". 
B. Increasing the job-intensity of economic growth 
The aim here is to regain a margin of manoeuvre between growth and employment, 
which is currently being restricted by the imperatives of competitiveness in the medium 
term. To achieve this, we need to devote particular attention to: 
1. The employment question when financing infrastructure and productive 
investment, giving greater weight to this criterion in the case of the more 
developed regions. 
(a) In general: 
/ - as regards implementation, the methodologies and selection 
criteria for projects are not always satisfactory, since they result 
in undifferentiated assistance designed to reduce the overall cost 
of the investment. Although there has been an improvement on 
the previous period, the criteria should be more selective and 
give greater priority to measures with the greatest job-creation 
potential. 
The procedures for granting the assistance, particularly to small 
firms, should be simplified and speeded up. 
Project selection criteria 
The "scoring system" used in the United Kingdom provides one example of a methodology to help with the 
qualitative analysis of assistance, it is based on two essential features: firstly, the projects must satisfy a 
certain number of basic criteria, and secondly there are specific criteria for evaluating the quality of a project 
in relation to the corresponding measure. Employment is one of the basic criteria, which means that if a 
project does not create jobs (in net terms), it has little chance of being selected. The criteria specific to the 
measure involved are based on unit cost indicators corresponding to the type of operation concerned, 
including the cost per job created. Only the most efficient projects, i.e. those with the best cost/job-created 
ratio, are financed under the aid scheme. 
in the same vein, certain Monitoring Committees for Objective 5(b) areas, such as the Committee for the 
French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, have included job creation in their project selection criteria. 
more appropriate evaluation methods should be used, better adjusted to 
the diversity of the regions and so providing a better picture of the 
quantified objectives in terms of the creation and preservation of jobs. 
18 
For the monitoring of operations, tools could be developed for the 
continuous assessment of interim impact, with particular attention to the 
measures which create the greatest number of jobs. 
(b) Measures to accompany infrastructure work and investment aid should 
be stepped up in order to maximise the spill-over effect on local 
employment. Direct jobs generated by major infrastructures have two 
limitations: they are temporary and risk being filled by people from 
outside the area. 
There should be a pro-active response to this situation, involving close 
cooperation between promoters and supervisors of major projects with 
the aim of maximising the local spill-over effects of the works. In order 
not to influence the award of contracts, this approach will of course be 
applied at a later stage (cf. box below). It may also be applied to local 
businesses with a view to sub-contracting parts of the works following 
Commission guidelines on better access for SMEs to public contracts. 
Particular attention should also be given to the possibility of making the 
local jobs and outlets thus generated permanent (cf. box below). 
The same principles (targeted training of workers and upgrading of local 
SMEs) could be applied to major productive investments. 
19 
Measures to support infrastructures 
The jobs generated by infrastructures are temporary since they are linked to single construction operations 
and, generally speaking, no steps are taken to make any of them permanent after the works are completed 
(by way of example, the region of Andalusia and the site of Expo '92 in Seville). An estimate shows that up 
to 50 to 80% of work on major construction sites under Objective 1 is supplied by firms (and staff) from 
outside the region, and sometimes from outside the Member State. This estimate obviously varies according 
to the qualifications required and the population density in the area where the works are carried out. 
in order to improve the local spill-over effects of these works, the following measures could be initiated 
after the contracts have been awarded in accordance with the relevant Community Directives: 
advance forecast of craft labour requirements at each site; 
comparison of those requirements with supply on the local or regional labour market; 
adjustment of local supply to those requirements which it is not already equipped to meet, using 
intensive training programmes (part-financed by the ESF). 
An operation to create permanent jobs could be carried out: 
either at local level: maintenance, repairs and operational management of the infrastructure and 
general services to it (e.g. supply of consumer goods, refreshments), which represent an estimated 
100 000 local jobs per year; even more could be created by systematic measures in the context of 
local services, in particular environmental services; 
or at external level: creation of pools of qualified or expert staff for one or more of the trades 
needed for the works, which could be used on similar sites outside the area. 
With regard to measures accompanying productive investment, the German CSF for the new Lander shows 
a possible way ahead in concentrating on the recycling of industrial material and promoting a strategy of 
cooperation between companies to the benefit of the new SMEs. 
2. Compensating wherever appropriate for changes required bv the modernization 
of the productive sector, whether it is a matter of mitigating its sectoral impact 
(in fisheries, for example) or its impact on the urban environment, or of 
slowing down the rural exodus, which itself aggravates urban problems. To 
achieve this, financing assistance should be stepped up and provided as the rule 
rather than the exception to support integrated approaches to rural development 
designed to develop products or sectors that are not exposed to international 
competition, or only exposed to a small extent: 
(a) Firstly, a strategy for the systematic development of regional strengths 
should be encouraged. It should be based on industries or niches that 
make an economic advantage of tradition and quality and give scope for 
diversification of the local or regional economy's outlets. It could also 
be based on the offer of services centred on revitalized medium-sized 
towns, which should play a greater structural role. 
Whichever approach is emphasized, the necessary conditions for the 
success of such a strategy are: 
20 
greater cooperation among SMEs and between SMEs and large 
companies, designed to establish "innovative economic areas", 
giving new life to industrial districts; 
advisory and supporting services of sufficiently high quality, 
essential for the establishment and development of SMEs (cf. 
11/A. 1) having regard to their role as a dynamic source of 
employment4. 
(b) Secondly, particular attention should be paid, as the Commission asks in 
its Communication to the Council5, to developing new sources of 
employment in certain areas of local initiative seeking to meet new needs 
not yet found an adequate response and relating principally to the quality 
of life (personal assistance services, in particular for senior citizens, 
culture, tourism, local services) and the management of scarce resources 
(cultural heritage, management and protection of the environment - cf. 
11/A/3 -, alternative sources of energy, in particular biomass). New full-
time, labour-intensive activities need to be developed on the basis of the 
new needs arising from demographic and social trends in Europe, of 
which the most important are: the aging population, (one adult in three 
in the European Union is over sixty), the increase in free time and the 
greater stress on the management of scarce resources. 
The basic premise is that these areas contain potential pent-up demand, 
which needs to be brought into the open and encouraged by public 
measures (in particular by activating the resources allocated to 
supporting the unemployed), but which will take its natural place in the 
commercial sector. 
See Commission report to the Madrid European Council (CSE(95)2087) "Small and medium-
sized enterprises: a dynamic source of employment, growth and competitiveness in the European 
Union". 
COM(95) 273 of 13 June 1995 on a strategy for encouraging local development and job-creation 
initiatives 
21 
Sources of employment 
Strategies for exploiting regional advantages must be designed to activate employment potential based on 
tradition, which may include: 
"unique" local products which are in danger of disappearing or have already disappeared but which 
the public still remembers: know-how and trades, particularly in crafts; 
typical craft or traditional products which, although not unique to a particular area, have a strong 
competitive edge calling for appropriate marketing strategies. 
Examples of this nature can be found in the Irish CSF local development programme which is implemented 
by a global grant and based on the practice of "Community development". 
Similarly, the programme for developing regional potential in Portugal was recendy (July 1995) adjusted to 
give greater weight to this aspect, focusing on the development of small and very small businesses. 
Finally, examples of good practice abound in the Leader Community Initiative, under which most of the 
local action groups support projects involving the improvement of production methods and the sale of 
typical regional products. 
Under Objective 2, the central issue is the financing of SMEs, in particular start-up capital for those just 
getting off the ground. This issue cannot be dissociated from that of integrated quality services to support 
business start-ups, based on partnership between the different service providers in the area. The SPDs of the 
new Member States, in particular Sweden, attach particular importance to these aspects. 
Support for new sources of employment needs to be increased. In this context, programmes in Greece could 
be restructured or could allocate "deflator" resources to supporting the provision by the national authorities 
of a job-seekers' voucher along the lines of the French system. 
More specifically, the Merseyside (UK) SPD stresses the opportunities offered by local jobs through the 
identification of 38 "pathways" based on local initiative strategies. 
3. Encouraging dynamic reorganization of work and working time where this is 
accompanied by an increase in employment. 
The rapid spread of new techniques and the resultant types of production mean 
that work needs to be organized in new ways. Delay in this area could slow 
down growth and productivity and hinder the potential employment advantages 
resulting from flexible work schedules. 
Structural Fund assistance, in particular job support, could act as a catalyst by 
supporting the transitional costs of implementing approaches such as: 
arrangements allowing workers to interrupt their careers temporarily for 
training purposes, for example in exchange for the employment of an 
unemployed person during that training period; 
22 
restructuring of working time to achieve better distribution of available 
employment throughout each person's working life. 
In this context the importance of the role played by appropriate training for the 
employees of SMEs should be emphasized, as should that of systems promoting 
training throughout employees' working life and the role of the social and 
economic partners. 
Management of work and working time 
In Denmark, under the legislation which entered into force in 1994, unpaid leave for personal reasons may 
be granted for a period of thirteen to fifty-two weeks and an allowance on the same scale as unemployment 
pay is granted. Such leave is intended for further education, parental leave or sabbatical purposes. The 
resulting vacancies are filled by the unemployed or young job-seekers. This rotation increases the flexibility 
of the labour market and helps members of the work force to retrain throughout their working lives. 
4. Fostering environmentally sound growth 
Protecting the environment constitutes a major source of new jobs. Apart from those 
generated by the construction and maintenance of infrastructures, more and more 
importance is attached to the job potential offered by work relating to the environment, 
sometimes called the "eco-sector". This branch of activity creates goods and services 
for measuring, preventing, limiting or correcting damage caused to water, air and soil. 
It also includes the reduction and management of waste and noise pollution and energy 
saving at local level. In addition, the services concerned cover environmental audits 
and advice to all other sectors of industry. The development of environment-related 
industries, which mostly use very sophisticated technology and develop innovative 
approaches (production of anti-pollution materials, telematic developments contributing 
to a more integrated approach to environmental management at local and regional 
level, the prevention of natural and "man-made" disasters, the management of natural 
resources, energy-saving techniques and renewable energy sources) all look set to 
generate long-term jobs. 
It should also be noted that environment-related services, including the launch and 
maintenance of the necessary infrastructure, which are particularly important for 
Objective 1 regions (e.g. waste management, pollution control, water management, the 
preservation of protected natural areas and activities going beyond the environmental in 
the narrow sense, but which make a significant contribution to the quality of life, such 
as preservation of the national heritage and urban renewal), may be labour-intensive 
and so can make a major contribution to job creation and preservation. 
As early as 1988, in its Communication on the future of rural world, the Commission 
emphasized the importance of stepping up environmental protection measures. In rural 
areas, the growing demand for "natural" agricultural products, "green" tourism, 
unspoilt areas and well-kept landscapes are opening up new horizons for the regions 
concerned. Other economic activities linked to a "clean" environment (e.g. research on 
23 
technology) may also contribute significantly to the diversification of sources of income 
and so help maintain rural population levels. 
Environment 
The Cohesion Fund is providing more than ECU 16 000 million between 1993 and 1999. During the first 
two years of its operation (1993-94), the ratio of environmental to transport projects was roughly 40:60. 
The Commission considered this proportion to be too low in view of the target of 50:50. The situation 
should therefore be improved significantly. 
Under Objective 2, the SPD for Germany devotes 7% of its resources to "clean" technologies and products. 
The United Kingdom SPD has a similar orientation: in western Scotland, ECU 47 million has been allocated 
to improving the region's environment and image, as part of the Business Infrastructure priority. The ERDF 
will be financing projects such as those allowing an increase in the recycling of land with an emphasis on 
reducing the damage to which historical sites and monuments are subject, or a limited number of projects 
for the reconstitution of natural habitats on the outskirts of towns. In Picardy (France), 17% of SPD 
resources have been set aside for this purpose and a model pilot project has been set up to create local 
sectoral networks for the recycling of household waste. 
C. Promoting a more active approach to economic and social solidarity, 
including equal opportunities 
Economic and social solidarity should be clearly distinguished from the provision of 
assistance. 
The high rate of unemployment has weakened large sections of the population 
throughout the Community and led to the spread of social màrginalization, particularly 
affecting those categories most vulnerable on the labour market, such as young people 
from underprivileged backgrounds, women, the long-term unemployed and part of the 
immigrant population. 
In order to combat and prevent long-term unemployment and the risk of social 
fragmentation, we must work to reform labour market policies. Active policies must be 
given priority over merely handing out benefits. This would allow available financial 
resources to be used productively and, above all, permit mobilization of the 
unemployed and marginalized. To do this, access to unemployment benefits will be 
connected to a greater extent to training actions and to acquisition of new competences 
in order to better prevent long-term unemployment and exclusion. 
The transfer of aid hitherto used for passive measures to active labour market 
measures, which would hence not entail an increased burden on public finances, would 
require the range and quality of services to job-seekers to be adapted. Such 
improvements are necessary to deal effectively with the specific difficulties of the 
unemployed and the sections of the population weakest on the labour market, in 
particular women, by giving them better access to economic and social activity. 
This means introducing arrangements to integrate guidance, training, counselling and 
employment aid to make it easier for job-seekers to find work. In this context, 
measures to promote the active participation of all in economic and social life should 
particularly emphasize equal opportunities for women and men. 
24 
In its Communication of 21 February 19966 the Commission proposed that the situation 
of women and men should always be taken into account when the Structural Funds are 
being used in order to make a more positive contribution to equal opportunities. It also 
proposed guidelines for the role which the Funds might play in reconciling family and 
working life and integrating disadvantaged women. 
This approach, which gives priority to work and employment, can also be combined 
with developing new sources of employment. Encouragement for local development 
and employment initiatives could be supported from part of the resources hitherto 
allocated to passive income support, as well as from increased cooperation with the 
competitive economy. 
Economic solidarity 
In Hainaut (Belgium, Objective 1), "Agences de Développement de Quartier" (urban local development 
agencies), in association with the appropriate regional authorities, are working on the social integration of 
underprivileged young people through projects to restore public areas (accommodation, schools, renovation 
of urban areas). Under the supervision of a social worker and a works manager, the typical group is made 
up of seven or eight apprentices, under-going pre-training in unskilled techniques which should be followed 
by training proper, or by employment. In 1994, 2 205 people took part in these measures in Hainaut. The 
average duration is 453 hours per participant and the average cost per hour for each participant is ECU 6. 
To integrate extremely marginalized members of Belgian society, public social assistance centres can 
provide individualized guidance with a view to offering training and giving them access to social security. 
The average duration of these measures is 1 350 hours per person. 
In Kolding (Denmark), a group of young people excluded from the labour market transformed an old 
Russian submarine into a tourist attraction. The project was supported by the municipal authorities with 
assistance (40%) from the ESF (Objective 3) and combined practical and theoretical lessons. 
After a basic course (history, languages, working as a tourist guide), the participants could choose among a 
number of training courses (computer studies, electronics, marketing, metal working) and practical work 
(publishing, communications, setting up a submarine museum, etc.). During the first three years, 110 
people participated and 69 of them have found work or are attending training courses. The average cost per 
hour per participant is ECU 18. 
In Lelystadt (Netherlands) the reconstruction of a seventeenth century boat has enabled around fifty long-
term unemployed people to participate each year in renovation work accompanied by vocational training 
programmes. With time, the project has become a tourist attraction and developed into a socio-cultural 
organization. Most (224) of the 350 participants have found work in the private sector, while others (70) are 
still in training. 
The historical renovation of the English church in Hamburg (Germany) over the years 1991-94 was 
undertaken by a group of ten long-term unemployed people who attended a course on construction, 
architecture and renovation techniques leading to qualifications. The ESF contributed around ECU 170 000 
to the project. 
COM(96)67 final of 21 February 1996 "Integrating equal opportunities for women and men in 
all Community policies and action". 
25 
D. Developing and enriching the partnership in the context of structural 
assistance 
Each of the approaches described above is a potential reserve for fostering job 
creation, which, if it is to be fully activated, requires the strenghtening and renewal of 
the partnership while fully respecting the specific competences and the legitimacy of 
each of the partners having to be involved in the different stages of the process. More 
significant margins for manoeuvre can be created by the way financial assistance is 
used than from its content or volume. 
1. In this context the participation of the all the parties concerned should be 
increased in order to achieve triple value-added: economic, financial and 
political. 
Economic, to the extent that, if they are to be effective, widely varying 
employment situations in different areas require more precisely targeted 
measures that give greater priority to local links. In order to safeguard or create 
jobs by developing all the resources of an area, it is also necessary to achieve 
wide-raging involvement in this approach and publicize the fact that projects 
involving entrepreneurial initiative will be rewarded. 
Financial, because public resources are subject to budget constraints, which are 
becoming tighter. If financial partnership with the private sector is developed 
for the assistance measures that affect it most closely, this will increase their 
multiplier effect and their impact on employment. But this aspect can work only 
if private companies play a greater part in the preparation and implementation 
of assistance measures, as can be seen from the global grants implemented in 
several Member States. 
Political, in that Community assistance, in particular structural assistance, must 
become more visible to the public. This important aspect of the European 
project, stressing economic and social cohesion, including in the sphere of 
employment, which affects everyone, should mean greater involvement of 
public opinion in the Union. 
2. The Commission has found that the political, economic and social partnership is 
not fully exploited, including at the level of national authorities. The 
mobilization of local authorities, social partners, non-profit-making associations 
and businesses is still often inadequate and always too formal. It should 
therefore be stepped up, which implies: 
(a) enriching territorial partnership: in terms of organization, this means 
better integrating traditional, vertical partnership between national, 
regional and local public authorities with horizontal partnership between 
public and private bodies at the most appropriate territorial level. 
26 
Above all, the impact of local assistance needs to be improved. Tailor-
made training, accompanying measures for infrastructures, support 
services for SMEs, better targeting of aid schemes for the productive 
sector, will all mean a certain decentralization at the level of the 
preparation and implementation of measures. In this context, there seem 
to be ample grounds for improving vertical partnership between the 
different administrative levels. The local level is too often under-
represented, or left out altogether, by the Monitoring Committees. 
(b) expanding economic partnership: at the same time we must not lose 
sight of the need for a horizontal dimension of partnership: support 
measures for the private sector and assistance for education and support 
for RDT can be neither planned nor implemented without the active 
participation of the economic and social partners, and in particular of 
social and trade organizations in particular, SMEs, craft organizations 
and the social economy). The same applies to non-profit-making 
associations in the broader sense where measures involve the 
organization of social and economic schemes, combating social and 
economic marginalization, supporting new sources of employment and 
equal opportunities. 
In terms of day-to-day practicalities, we should go beyond the confines 
of the Monitoring Committees and develop less formal forums for 
discussion and proposals with more balanced participation by both 
sexes, more appropriate information and discussion of territorial projects 
affecting employment. This enriched partnership should not, however, 
become a source of confusion: national authorities will concentrate on 
arbitration, examining the general coherence of programmes and 
preparing project assessment instruments. 
27 
Structural Funds and Partnership 
Analysis shows that the situation varies widely according to the Objectives in different Member States. 
1. In terms of the organization of the Monitoring Committees 
(a) Under Objective I 
There are some examples of widening the partnership with subcommittees. In Spain the Andalusian model is 
an example of this. It involves a special committee below the level of the Monitoring Committee, bringing 
the regional government and the social partners together in order to have their opinion on economic develop­
ment and job creation issues. 
Another model for organizing the socio-economic partnership is to follow closely the territorial organization 
of programming and implementation. For some countries (I, IRL) this model involves the socio-economic 
partnership operating at the second level, that of operational programmes. At the third level, the regional 
authority committees (Ireland) operate in their own areas and the partnership is even wider. 
The socio-economic partnership plays too weak a role in the UK Monitoring Committees. In Merseyside as 
well as in the Highlands and Islands there is discussion of the Monitoring Committees' omission of the private 
sector. 
In Germany, there has been hesitation over establishing subcommittees with the social and economic partners 
at Lander level. The Prime Ministers of the Lander want to restrict contact with the Social and economic 
partners to information only. 
Another way to strengthen the Monitoring Committee could be through technical support. In Spain a 
multidisciplinary team has been established to deal with all aspects of operations financed by the ERDF and 
ESF. The team's report gives feedback to the Monitoring Committee on different aspects. 
(b) Under Objective 2 
The socio-economic partnership in the Objective 2 areas is considerably stronger. Denmark, Belgium and the 
Netherlands provide examples of socio-economic participation in the Monitoring Committees even if there 
are variations in decision making procedures. By contrast, lack of participation by the social partners and 
limited representation of elected members of local authorities are to be noted in the UK. 
In one instance, the Commission member of the Monitoring Committee is also a member of the project-
selecting committee, which gives early opportunities to stress special aspects. In another, the Monitoring 
Committee decides upon proposals from the technical financial committees (Belgium). 
The model of establishing subcommittees to the Monitoring Committees is also used in Objective 2 areas 
(Spain). 
The model of letting the socio-economic partnership in at a lower level is used by France, for example, where 
socio-economic representation is guaranteed by the "Economic and Social Council" of every region but 
completely excluded from the Monitoring Committees themselves. 
Luxembourg provides an interesting example of representation on the Monitoring Committees going beyond 
that of the traditional socio-economic partners, including also Chambers of Commerce and other trade bodies. 
This also applies to Luxembourg's Objective 5(b) programme. 
28 
Technical management support is used to assist the Monitoring Committees in Spain, Belgium and the 
Netherlands for example. 
To coordinate Objective 2 and 5(b) programmes and combine them to the best effect, a steering committee 
has been established (Netherlands). 
c) Objectives 3 and 4 
In the case of Objectives 3 and 4, the Commission has stressed the importance of involving the economic and 
social partners in negotiating CSFs and drawing up the internal rules of procedure for the Monitoring 
Committees. Under Objective 4 a consistent effort has been made to involve both social and economic 
partners, in particular Chambers of Commerce and SMEs (Germany, France, the Netherlands). 
2. The role of the Monitoring Committees 
There is a development in the direction of more involvement in regional or local programmes. These involve 
regional or local networks. 
There is also discussion in some Monitoring Committees of how the Commission's need for impact 
information is met and how to set up standardized methods and definitions for a report system on 
employment (Spain and Ireland). 
Beyond this institutional aspect, the Monitoring Committees could in any case initiate more active partnership 
practices: in certain Member States a set of practices for opening up the partnership (in particular to the 
economic and social partners) shows how to achieve greater effectiveness while respecting spheres of 
administrative competence. Under different names (seminars, technical committees, consultative sectoral 
committees, sub-committees, panels, working parties, etc.), less official bodies, which, however, meet on a 
regular basis, make it possible to exchange information on the prospects, interests and activities of all those 
concerned. 
These structures are supplementary to the Monitoring Committees and managed by them, allowing more 
effective dissemination of information and new guidelines, better ways of dealing with the problems and 
preoccupations of those involved, the enrichment of analysis and reflection with expert contributions on the 
different areas and the promotion of concerted activity at the level at which the work is being done. 
The Italian model of "territorial pacts" based on employment areas is undoubtedly the most innovative and 
advanced form of this expanded and dynamic partnership. 
* 
* * 
Conclusions7 
The active measures derived from the guidelines formulated above calls for a 
concerted effort by all those involved in the implementation of structural 
assistance. The Commission, while fully respecting the objectives of the 
Structural Funds, intends to take the necessary political initiatives to support the 
various partners in applying the approach adopted in this document. 
At its meeting on the 13 February 1996 the European Social Fund Committee broadly accepted 
these analyses and general conclusions. 
29 
At the present stage of programming, it is not a question of re-opening the 
negotiation of CSFs or SPDs. What needs to be done is to exploit the 
programmes' margin of flexibility more fully and to focus monitoring and 
evaluation systems on the gradual introduction of the priorities adopted in this 
paper. 
Thus, while taking account of the specific situations of different regions, the 
departments responsible for Structural Funds should coordinate their work to 
ensure that the Monitoring Committees translate the above priorities into concrete 
measures. In this context, particular attention will be paid to preparations for 
programming for the second period of Objective 2 (1997-99) and to the mid-term 
assessment of assistance. Within the current programming arrangements, the 
resources derived from the annual application of the deflator, or from delays 
recorded for the 1994 and 1995 financial years, will have to be used. 
Similarly, the systems and methodologies for evaluation will have to be adapted 
rapidly to take these recommendations fully into account. 
2. To achieve these objectives, in line with previous recommendations, the 
Commission proposes establishing, in the context of the structural policies, 
territorial partnerships for employment, involving the public and private sectors 
whose scope could, moreover, go beyond that of the Structural Funds. Such 
partnerships, concluded at the most appropriate level, could provide a context in 
which smaller territorial units could be involved in those aspects of the 
multiannual employment programmes agreed with the Member States which 
concern them. 
Their content and the practical arrangements for implementation will be 
thoroughly discussed by all parties so that the situations and institutional practices 
in each Member State can be taken into account. In addition to the discussions 
currently in progress in the Structural Funds Committees, the subject could be on 
the agenda for future European Councils and for Parliament. 
However, the Commission believes that the partnerships for employment will 
involve all concerned in preparing global territorial diagnoses of the employment 
situation, from which strategies will be derived which the different parties 
concerned - and especially the administrative bodies - will work more 
concertedly, favouring innovative approaches, in particular by spreading 
information about successful experiments. 
30 
The aim is to build up an organization and develop political momentum, as has 
been successfully done within the Union (Employment pact in Andalusia, Charter 
for employment in the Deux-Sèvres and Poitou-Charentes, Area Development 
Management in Ireland). This does not mean duplicating the work of the 
programme Monitoring Committees but providing the facilities for reflection and 
reference which will enable them to give priority to using all the available 
flexibility which the current programme affords to support local initiatives for 
development and employment. 
31 
Annexe 1 
European Commission 
Regional Policy and Cohesion 
DG XVI -A4 Austria : unemployment rale lor 1993 
Reunion. Guadeloupe. Martinique. Guyane average unemployment 'île "S91-92-32 

Annexp ? 
Participation rates, 1993 
European Commission 
Regional Policy and Cohesion 
DG XVI-A4 

Annexe 3a 
Contribution des Fonds structurels aux dépenses de développement 
Infrastructures 
Transport 
f Télécommunications 
Energie 
Environnement & Eau 
Santé 
Ressources humaines 
Education 
Formation 
Recherche & 
Développement 
Environnement productif 
Industrie et services 
Agric. & Développement rur 
Pêche 
Tourisme 
Autres 
TOTAL Belgique 
i 
138 
34 
12 
! 92 
254 
21 
139 
93 
335 
252 
50 
0 
32 
4. 
730 Allemagne 
1106 
1106 
4261 
3648 
613 
7973 
4748 
3141 
83 
*' 300 
13640 Grèce 
6408 
4002 
252 
864 
624 
666 
3444 
1878 
1236 
330 
3888 
1008 
2040 
150 
690 
, .246 
13986 Espagne 
10628 
6100 
418 
624 
3034 
452 
7462 
623 
. 5974 
865 
8023 
3019 
3422 
1033 
550 
187 
26300 France 
610 
262 
• «, / 
8 
323 
15 
595 
86 
465 
43 
753 
215 
387 
''•42 
99 
238 
2195 Irlande 
1109 
888 
37 
70 
74 
39 
2470 
1007 
1094 
368 
1845 
559 
853 
78 
355 
211 
5634 Italie 
4420 
1142 
418 
312 
1867 
81 
3184 
2209 
975 
7168 
3708 
2341 
257 
862 
88 
14860 Pays-Bas 
36 
31 
5 
40 
28 
11 
56 
22 
22 
8 
5 
18 
150 Portugal 
4146 
1872 
276 
426 
1056 
516 
4110 
1404 
2334 
372 
5006 
2226 
1908 
251 
618 
732 
13994 Mécu prix 
Royaume 
Uni 
. 671 
314 
20 
190 
146 
895 
791 
104 
713 
331 
242 
37 
103 
82 
2360 1994 
Autriche* 
33 
4 
4 
25 
43 
4 
32 
7 
86 
35 
24 
27 
4 
166 EUR 11 
29304 
15244 
1435 
2495 
8328 
1770 
26713 
5048 
17890 
3775 
35845 
16088 
14405 
1940 
3313 
2104 
94014 % 
3.1,2% 
16.2% 
1,5% 
2,7% 
8,9% 
1,9% 
28,4% 
5,4% 
19,0% 
4,0% 
38,1% 
17,1% 
15,3% 
2,1% 
3,5% 
2,2% 
100,0% 
., 1 
' Môcu prix 1 995 
u 
Annexe 3b Contribution des Fonds Structurels aux dépenses de développement de l'Objectif 2 (1994-1996) 
Environnement productif 
Infrastructures de soutien 
Industries et services 
PME 
Tourisme 
Sites Industriels, oménagoment et 
réhabilitation 
Environnement 
Zones urbaines, aménagement et 
réhabilitation 
Protection de l'environnement, 
infrastructures 
Ressources humaines 
Formation, emploi 
Centres de formation, équipements 
Recherche & Développement 
Assistance tochnlquo 
TOTAL 
C) moy. 1995-98 en Mecu 1995 Allemagne 
• 245 
48 
. 24 
' 162 
11 
1 19 
. -65 
13 
62 
293 
2)3 
79 
1 1 
733 Belgique 
76 
37 
17 
'2 
10 
16 
11 
3 
a 
53 
27 
9 
17 
4 
160 Danemark 
23 
9 
8 
1 
5 
32 
12 
20 
1 
56 Espagne 
692 
302 
É90 
214 
174 
40 
317 
268 
69 
8 
1130 France -
710 
' 168 
264 
160 
148 
164 
262 
169 
103 
614 
306 
67 
242 
25 
1785 Italie 
335 
• 36 
49 
191 
68 
77 
'., 57 
9 
48 
204 
137 
5 
63 
1 1 
684 Luxem­
bourg 
1 
/ 
2 
2 
2 
2 
/ 
0 
7 Pays-Bas 
T31 
. 31 
36 
30 
34 
41 
5 
6 
113 
90 
23 
9 
300 Royaume-
Uni 
1038 
262 
248 
330 
207 
189 
138 
138 
755 
628 
39 
188 
22 
2142 Finland 
48 
16 
10 
17 
5 
0 
7 
7 
0 
13 
13 
1 
69 Austria' 
24 
8 
10 
2 
3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
15 
;/ 
2 
2 
1 
40 Sweden' 
42 
2 
13 
18 
8 
0 
0,24 
0,24 
20 
14 
1 
6 
2 
64 Mécu prix 1994 
TOTAL 
3264 
901 
671 
1203 
489 
599 
762 
364 
398 
2431 
1608 
123 
699 
95 
7151 % 
45,6% 
12,6% 
9,4% 
16,8% 
6,8% 
8,4% 
10,7% 
5,1% 
5,6% 
34,0% 
22,6% 
1,7% 
9,8% 
1,3% 
100,0% 
' / 
Annexe 3C 
Contribution of the Slruclural Funds to Objective 3.end 4 expenditure on Human Resources lor the period 1994-1096/1899 
Contribution des Fond» structurels eux dôpensos de Ressources Humaines objectifs 3 el 4 pour la période 1894-1996/1999. 
Boltrog der Slrukturlonds zo don Auswondunnen (Or Menschtldha Roriouicen nach Zlel 3 und 4 fur die Période 1994-1096/1009. 
Meeus 1994 
Ob|octlvo3 
1. Occupational Integration ol lonrj-torm unemployed 
2. Occupationol intégration ol young porsons 
3. Integration of personj excluded from the labour market 
4. Promollon of equal opportunities 
5. Aulro3 
Total 
Objocfjvu 4 
1. Adaptation of v/orkois to Industrial change 
2. Autres 
Total ' * BE 
133 
82 
" 124 
26 
29 
393 
2-1 
2 
26 OK 
H4 
55 
68 
0 
6 
263 
12 
:: 1 
13 DE 
952 
442 
77 
• 160 
50 
1.681 
105 
0 
• 105 ES 
495 
723 
ISO 
62 
0 
1.4GB 
369 
0 
369 FR 
724 
980 
705 
18 
136 
2.562 
300 
0 
300 IT 
423 
568 
132 
105 
91 
1.316 
321 
78 
399 LU 
6 
3 
10 
1 
1 
21 
1 
0 
1 NL 
577 
346 
0 
0 
0 
923 
156 
.0 
156 UK 
562 
474 
360 
90 
IS 
1.501 
0 
0 
0 Total 
4 015 
3 67( 
1.654 
461 
- 327 
10.128 
1.287 
- 81 
1.368 % 
40 
36 
16 
5 
3 
100 
94 
6 
100 
Nolo: Objocilvo 3 In UK is ooroed (or 1994-1996; Objocilvo 4 in BE. OK, DE. FR, LU Is ocjreod for 1094-1996; no ug/oernenl for UK. 
tf 
Ahnexe 3D 
Conlribulion des Fonds structurels aux dépensés de développement, de l'objectif 5a-péche (hors objectif 1), 1994-99 
Mécus 1994 B 
24,5 DK 
139,8 D 
74,6 E 
119,6 F-k''•.'.V. 
.;•: '••. ''•:•'• • 
• 189,9 FI •••/ 
' !. • .'; .'. . 
••-••'•. 23 1 
134,4 L 
1.1 NL 
46,6 SE 
40 UK 
88,8 TOT 
882,3 
U3 
Annexe 3E 
DOCUP de l'Objectif 5b (1994-1999) : Allocation communautaire par axe prioritaire de développement (') 
•:.;•,•••;'•• ! •-;•'•.. 
;. :|!;si-.l..i i Axe prioritaire 
Diversification Agricole et sylvicole : >i 
L','!''.'il.it. ^ . ;• 
Diversification et développement do? socteurs non-agricoles LirA i.iili', l- . ; KfOleclioh de l'environnement 
TÔUrisrné 
Développement local ei rénovation des villages 
Ressources humaines 
Assistance technique et évaluation BE 
20,3 
22,8 
6,9 
10,2 
3.9 
12,9 
1.1 
total • ! 78.1 '. -DK 
14,7 
12,9 
C*) 
14,7 
. C) . 
10,6 
1,1 
54,0 ' DE •:. 
224,2 
321,7 
207;7 
86,7 
14 6,1 
219,6 
23,0 
1229,0 ES 
297,9 
96.2 
67,5 
45.2 
68,6 
88,6 
f) 
664,0 FR 
683,8 
508,6 
244,8 
266,0 
205.9 
286.3 
43.9 IT . 
331.5 
168,3 
94.6 
168.6 
7.2 
120.9 
12.6 
2239.4 | 903.7 LU 
0.7 
0.9 
0.5 
1,0 
2.0 
0,8 
0.2 
6,0 NI 
15.2 
58. l 
35.7 
20.9 
1.1 
17,2 
1.8 
150.0 MECU 
UK 
64.8 
305.7 
63,9 
1 74.9 
69.0 
132.1 
10.1 
820.5 prix couruni 
(Otal 
1653.2 
1495.2 
721,5 
783.2 
503.8 
889.1 
93,7 
6144,7 
Axe prioritaire j BE 
Diversification agricole ei sylvicole | 26,0% 
Diversification et développement des socieurs,non-agricoles ! 29,2% 
Protection de l'environnemeni j 8,8% 
Tourisme * 13,1% 
Développement local ot rénovation dos villages 4,9% 
Ressources humaines : 16,6% 
Assistance technique et évaluauon \ 1,4% 
total ; 100.0% OK" 
27,2% 
24,0% 
C) 
2 7,2% 
fi 
19,6% 
2,0% 
1 00,0% DE 
18.2%. 
26,2% 
16,9%. 
7.1 % 
11,9% 
17,9% 
. 1.9% 
100,0% ES 
44,9% 
14,5% 
10,2% 
6,8% 
10.3% 
13,4% 
100,0% FR 
30.5% 
22.7% 
10,9% 
11,9% 
9,2% 
12.8% 
2.0%: IT 
36.7% 
18.6% 
10.5% 
18.7% 
0.8% 
13.4% 
1,4% 
100.0% •' 100.0% LU 
11,2 % 
14.2% 
8,8% 
16.4% 
34,1% 
12,8% 
2.5% 
100.0% NL 
10.1% 
3 8.7% 
23.8% 
13.9% 
0.7% 
1 1.4% 
1.2% 
100.0% % tota: 
UK | total 
7.9% 
3 7.3% 
7.8% 
21.3% 
8.4% 
16.1% 
1.2% 26.9% 
24.3% 
11.7% 
12,8% 
9.2% 
.14.5% 
1.5% | 
1 00.0% | 100,0%| 
!'l Proçramn)os approuvés par habilitation 
(' 'I Les actions relevant de cet oxe sont intégrées dans d'autres axes prioritaires. 
Annexe 3 F 
Contribution des Fonds Structurels à : 
l'Objectif 6 (1995-1999) 
; . : Mecu 1995 
Finlande Suède Total % 
r , • • . ', 
i • 
Infrastructures de base 0 13 13 1,6 
Secteur productif .347 152 ' • - 499 61,1 
Ressources humaines 104 64 168 20,5 
Recherche et développement 114 23 -137 , 16,8 
TOTAL 565 252| :817 100,0 
a 



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C0M(96) 109 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 13 04 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-117-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-01677-2 
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