29.7.85 f Official Journal of the European Communities No C 188/15 
Opinion on the proposal for a Regulation instituting integrated Mediterranean programmes 
(85/C 188/06) 
On 22 April 1985 the Council, acting in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty, asked the 
Committee for an opinion on the proposal for a Regulation instituting integrated Mediterra­
nean programmes which had been submitted to the Council by the Commission on 19 April 
1985. 
On 25 April 1985 the Committee, acting under Articles 18 and 45 of the Rules of Procedure, 
appointed Mr Lauga as rapporteur-general and Mr Masprone and Mr Lojewski as co-
rapporteurs. 
At its 227th plenary session (meeting of 30 May 1985) the Committee adopted the following 
opinion with no votes against and seven abstentions: 
The Committee has the following comments to make 
on the proposal in question: 
1. The Committee notes that the new Commission 
proposals take account of the method which the 
Committee had recommended in its previous opin-
ions(')-
2. The Committee should however emphasize that 
these three opinions were drafted against the quite 
different background of an additional financial alloca­
tion of 6 600 million ECU. This has now been reduced 
to 1 600 million ECU. The Committee had unani­
mously approved the former sum. 
The Committee regrets that the Commission did not 
clearly state the source of the sum of 2 500 million ECU 
which would in any case have to come from a real 
increase of the structural funds in order to obtain the 
sum of 4 100 million ECU envisaged in the budget plan 
for the period in question. 
3. This drastic cut in the original allocation — exacer­
bated by the justified extension of IMPs to cover the 
overall develppment of Mediterranean regions, not just 
their rural areas, crushes the legitimate expectations 
which the initial Commission proposals rightly raised 
in the regions concerned. 
4. In view of the funds available, the Committee 
considers a period of seven years to be too long. The 
Committee believes that the presentation of a report as 
laid down in Article 18 should be used as an oppor­
tunity for reviewing financial arrangements each year in the light of the Community's financial situation at 
the time. 
5. The Committee regrets this development and hopes 
that it will not jeopardize the fundamental objectives 
which led the Commission to propose the IMPs, i.e. to 
enable the Mediterranean regions of the present 
Community to catch up structurally, economically and 
socially, and to bring about the adjustment of these 
regions to the new conditions which will be created by 
the accession of Spain and Portugal. 
6. The Committee stresses the need — now more 
essential than ever — to ensure that representatives of 
local and regional social groups and occupational 
organizations are adequately involved at both Commu­
nity and national level in the planned cooperation 
between national and Community authorities, particu­
larly through their participation in the Steering 
Committees envisaged for each programme; an aim 
should also be to foster development in the Mediterra­
nean countries by setting up more small and medium-
sized businesses. 
7. The Committee renews its suggestion that the 
spatial scope of the IMPs be extended to include the 
hilly and Apennine regions of Emilia Romagna in 
Italy, and in France the departments of Drdme and 
Ardeche. 
8. The Committee feels that the list of measures in the 
Annex should be purely for guidance, and should not 
be binding. 
Done at Brussels, 30 May 1985. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
(') OJ No C 23, 30. 1. 1984; OJ No C 206, 6. 8. 1984; OJ No C 
44, 15.2. 1985.