EUROPEISKA GEMENSKAPERNAS KOMMISSION 
Bryssel den 29.03.1995 
KOM(95) 111 slutlig 
MEDDELANDE FRÅN KOMMISSIONEN 
TILL RÅDET, EUROPAPARLAMENTET, 
EKONOMISKA OCH SOCIALA KOMMITTÉN 
OCH REGIONKOMMITTÉN 
DE NYA REGIONPROGRAMMEN UNDER MÅLOMRÅDE 1 OCH 21 
GEMENSKAPENS STRUKTURFONDER 
EN SAMMANFATTNING AV FÖRVÄNTADE OCH UPPNÅDDA RESULTAT AV 
UPPRÄTTANDET AV DESSA 

Sammanfattning 
INLEDNING 
Under 1994 godkände kommissionen de nya programmen för svagt utvecklade regioner 
(mål 1) och industriella regioner på tillbakagång (mål 2). 
Den makro-ekonomiska dimensionen av gemenskapens strukturstöd i mål 1-områden 
För mål 1 avsätts genom dessa beslut 94 miljarder ecu (1994 års priser) av gemenskapens 
resurser för en sexårsperiod som löper 1994-1999, eller 2/3 av den totala finansplanen för 
strukturfonderna. Med ökningen av de finansiella resurserna sedan 1989 har 
gemenskapens finanser fått en betydande makro-ekonomisk dimension, i synnerhet i de 
stater som helt eller delvis kan komma i fråga för mål 1. Strukturfondemas andel av EUs 
budget väntas utgöra ca 35% 1999, med en ökning av den del som hänför sig till mål 1 till 
68% för 1994-99, exklusive sammanhållningsfonden. Till dessa summor (och summorna 
för mål 2 nedan) skall läggas lån från Europeiska investeringsbanken, vars verksamhet till 
övervägande delen rör utvecklingen i de fattigaste regionerna. 
Budgetöverföringarna till mål 1-områden antar betydande proportioner som årlig andel av 
BNP (mellan 2,2% och 3,4% i de länder som omfattas av sammanhåUningsfonden) och 
som investeringsandel, till exempel i Grekland, där de utgör nästan 12% av alla offentliga 
och privata investeringar. 
Berättigande för industriregioner på tillbakagång (mål 2-områden) 
För mål 2 täcker programmen en period av tre år (1994-1996) och omfattar 7 miljarder 
ecu av gemenskapens resurser, eller 11% av den totala finansplanen för strukturfonderna 
för denna treårsperiod. Den slutliga förteckningen över områden under mål 2 under 1994-
96 omfattar 58,1 miljoner innevånare, eller 16,8% av gemenskapens folkmängd, en 
procentuell andel som är jämförbar med föregående programperiod. En utökad 
användning av tilläggskriterierna för berättigande gav en vidare förståelse av effekterna av 
industriell nedgång, men visade också tydligt hur utbredda effekterna av 
konjunkturnedgången är. 

I. UTARBETANDET AV DE NYA PROGRAMMEN 
I sin undersökning av de utvecklings- eller omvandlingsplaner medlemsstaterna lämnat 
in, använde sig kommissionen av sin erfarenhet från föregående period och ett antal 
specifika kriterier: 
- full respekt för de nya förordningarna (i synnerhet med avseende på anpassningen 
av fondernas prioritetsmål), partnerskap, miljön, de ändrade tillvägagångssätten 
vad gäller fastställande av mål 2-områden, förenkling av programplaneringen 
genom det samlade programplaneringsdokumentet (SPD) och närmare samarbete 
med Europaparlamentet, i synnerhet beträffande arbetsordningen mellan 
parlamentet och kommissionen, 
- de föreslagna strategiernas beskaffenhet, 
- införandet av innovationer. 
Ett dubbelt mål eftersträvades under diskussionerna med var och en av 
medlemsstaterna i samband med partnerskap: 
- att fylla informationsluckor i planerna, 
- att söka bästa möjliga balans i prioriteringen av interventioner. 
II. EN ÖVERSIKT ÖVER GEMENSKAPENS PRIORITERINGAR 
De ekonomiska resultat strukturfonderna kan förväntas uppnå är kopplade till stödets 
koncentration och selektiva natur. För både mål 1- och mål 2-områden belyste 
partnerskapet följaktligen en prioriteringssyn som betonade ämnena i vitboken om 
tillväxt, konkurrenskraft och sysselsättning. 
En översikt över finansieringen för mål 2, belyst med lämpliga exempel från de 
samlade programplaneringsdokumenten (SPD), bekräftar att 45,2% av den totala 
insatsen har gått till produktiv verksamhet, vilket stämmer överens med dennas 
betydelse som nyckelfaktor för tillväxt och sysselsättning. SPD omfattar åtgärder för 
industri- och affärsverksamhet, i synnerhet SME-företag (små och medelstora 
företag), liksom breddning från industri på tillbakagång, exempelvis till turism, där 
den stödjande infrastrukturen enbart finansieras i de fall det är klart berättigat ur 
utvecklingsaspekt. Under mål 1 kommer kraftfulla åtgärder att sättas in i den 
långsiktiga satsningen på att höja den grundläggande infrastrukturen, även om dess 
relativa betydelse i de nya strukturfonderna (31%) kommer att vara lägre än tidigare 
(34%). 
4 «X 
Investering i utbildning och fortbildning betonas som en nyckelåtgärd för att stärka 
eftersatta regioner och befrämja sysselsättning. I mål 2-områden har åtgärderna inom 
området mänskliga resurser koncentrerats på yrkesutbitdning, med en eftersträvad 
balans mellan företagens arbetsmarknadsmässiga behov och arbetstagarnas behov. Ett 
antal program innehåller speciella åtgärder som inriktar sig på de mest eftersatta 
områdena och på områden som har behov av speciella kunskaper. Insatser inom 
forskning och utveckling betonar vikten av att F&U integreras med tillverkning, 
utveckling av nya produkter och spridning av ny teknik till företagen. 
Större miljömedvetenhet prioriteras i alla strukturfonder och SPD under mål 1 och 2 
med viktig utveckling, genom ett mer förebyggande tillvägagångssätt och med större 
inflytande från miljömyndigheter. Kommissionen har gjort en viktig insats i mål 1-
områden vad gäller lokal utveckling och landsbygdsutveckling, genom att vinkla 
verksamheten i riktning mot lokala aktörer. Åtgärderna omfattar renovering av byar 
och marknadsföring av lokala produkter, med betoning av turism och 
hantverksindustri. 
I mål 1-områden fortsätter strukturfonderna att satsa stora summor på att upprätta de 
transeuropeiska näten (4,8 miljoner ecu eller 5 till 8% av gemenskapens totala stöd till 
strukturfonderna). 
Bidrag till forskning och teknologisk utveckling stärker konkurrenskraften genom att 
hjälpa regionerna att förbättra sin grundläggande vetenskapliga och tekniska kapacitet 
och uppmuntra spridningen av ny teknik till företagen. 
III TILLÄMPNING AV RIKTLINJERNA UNDER DE NYA FÖRORDNINGARNA 
Arrangemangen för partnerskap i mål 1-områden har varierat mellan olika 
medlemsstater, men de mest lyckade regionala partnerskapen har funnits i mål 2-
områden. Samarbetet mellan ekonomiska och sociala partners har emellertid i 
allmänhet förblivit relativt blygsamt. 
Att göra en förhandsbedömning av additionaliteten var en av de svåraste aspekterna 
av diskussionerna med medlemsstaterna.Ytterligare ett problem var den stora 
mängden mål 2-områden och deras utspridda läge. För mål 1 är situationen bättre än 
under föregående period. Nederländerna är ett bra exempel på additionalitet, trots att 
deras mål 2-områden är fragmenterade. 
Som ett led i stärkandet av förhandsbedömning, övervakning och utvärdering har alla 
strukturfonder och SPD för mål 1 och 2 utsatts för systematisk bedömning, med stöd 
av oberoende, externa bedömare. Klara framsteg har gjorts vad gäller kvantifieringen 
av de mål som skall uppnås och de åtgärder som vidtagits för att säkra en effektiv 
implementering och övervakning. Utvärderingen av mål 2-programmen kommer att 
vara särskilt viktig för en översyn av förteckningen över berättigade områden inför 
den andra programperioden 1997-99. 
4 (,-
För att åstadkomma en förenkling av programproceduren använde 11 mål 1-områden 
med begränsad geografisk yta och relativt begränsat ekonomiskt stöd och nästan alla 
mål 2-områden tillvägagångssättet med samordnat programplaneringsdokument. I 
fråga om de spanska mål 2-områdena beslutade man hålla fast vid strukturfondernas 
tillvägagångssätt, beroende på dessa områdens önskan att ha en nära koppling till de 
regionala programmen. 
Frånsett den ökade miljöbetoningen tar strukturfonderna och SPD för de nya mål 1 
och 2 speciella hänsyn till andra hållningssätt och åtaganden ett samhälle kan ha vad 
gäller konkurrens, offentliga avtal och lika möjligheter för män och kvinnor. 
En allmänt god integrering mellan sektorsprioriteringar har uppnåtts och är allmänt 
förekommande mellan i synnerhet Europeiska regionala utvecklingsfonden och 
Europeiska strukturfonderna. Trots att Europeiska investeringsbanken har arbetat på 
nära håll med förberedandet av mål 1- och mål 2-dokumenten, i synnerhet med 
bedömning av planerna, har resultatet, i form av lån från EIB för finansiering av 
programmen, varit magert. 
IV. SLUTSATS 
De första bedömningarna vad gäller det överenskomna mål 1 för strukturfonderna 
tyder på att dessa kommer att ha en betydande effekt på BNP-tillväxten (2-3% högre 
1999 än vad som skulle uppnåtts utan överföringar från gemenskapen) och därigenom 
på sysselsättningen. Oberoende bedömningar tyder på att implementeringen av 
strukturfonderna kommer att skapa ca 1 miljon arbetstillfällen per år för mål 1-
områdena som helhet. Dessa investeringar förväntas också ha en positiv indirekt 
effekt för hela unionen genom ytterligare import till mål 1-områden från resten av 
gemenskapen. 
Mål 2-områdena uppvisar en mer gynnsam bild jämfört med andra områden, eftersom 
arbetslösheten där sjunkit med nästan 3 procentenheter mellan 1986 och 1993, medan 
den förblivit i stort sett oförändrad i gemenskapen i övrigt. Detta tycks återspegla det 
faktum att ett stort antal nya arbetstillfällen skapats i mål 2-områden. 
Kommissionen kommer kontinuerligt att försäkra sig om kvaliteten på de strukturella 
åtgärder den genomfört, i synnerhet genom löpande utvärderingar, med bedömning av 
miljön och regelbundna kontroller av tillämpningen av gemenskapens policy och 
respekten för additionalitetsprincipen. 
-I C 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION 
I. PREPARATION OF THE NEW PROGRAMMES 
A. The main guidelines of the new regulations 
B. The Commission's "frame of reference" in establishing the CSFs 
n. THE CONTENT OF THE NEW CSFS : A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO ADJUSTMENT 
IN THE REGIONS WHOSE DEVELOPMENT IS LAGGING BEHIND 
A. The macro-economic dimension of Community structural assistance 
B. Selectivity in Community assistance 
C. Taking account of Community priorities 
D. Application of the guidelines under the new regulations 
E. Some innovations 
III. THE NEW PROGRAMMES FOR THE OBJECTIVE 2.REGIONS :_ A RESPONSE TO 
INDUSTRIAL DECLINE AND FINDING A NEW ECONOMIC FUTURE FOR WEAKENED 
REGIONS 
A. Eligibility of industrial regions in decline 
B. The financial contribution of the Structurel Funds and the characteristics of 
Objective 2 areas 
C. The main results of the negotiations 
D. An analysis of the development priorities 
E. The application of the newly amended legal provisions 
F. Innovations 
IV. FINAL REMARKS 
ANNEX I : SUMMARY TABLES 
ANNEX n : OBJECTIVE 1 : THE RESULTS BY PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 
ANNExm : OBJECTIVE 2 : THE PRINCIPAL RESULTS BY MEMBER STATE 

THE NEW REGIONAL PROGRAMMES 
UNDER OBJECTIVES 1 AND 2 
OF THE COMMUNITY STRUCTURAL POLICIES 
A SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS EXPECTED AND OBTAINED 
FROM THEIR ESTABLISHMENT 
Communication of the Commission to the Council, 
the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee 
and the Commitee of the Regions 
INTRODUCTION 
In the course of 1994, the Commission approved the new programmes for the regions 
whose development is lagging behind (Objective 1) and the industrial regions in decline 
(Objective 2). 
For Objective 1, these decisions mobilize 94 billion ECU (1994 prices) of Community 
resources for a six year period running from 1994 to 1999, or 2/3 of the total Structural 
Funds financial package. 
For Objective 2, the programmes cover a period of three years (1994-1996) and involve 7 
billion ECU of Community resources, or 11% of the total Structural Funds financial 
package for this triannual period. 
To these amounts will be added loans from the European Investment Bank; a predominant 
part of its activities concern the development of the least prosperous regions. 
In view of the problem of unemployment, which affects the Union more than any other 
economic grouping in the world, the regional assistance from the Community, thanks to 
its selective nature, will furnish a valuable and sustainable contribution to growth, 
competitiveness and employment in the whole of the Community's territory and in 
particular in the least favoured regions. 
The new programmes have been established in partnership on the basis of the plans 
proposed by the Member States. It is appropriate to mention that the adoption of these 
documents by the Commission has taken somewhat longer than the 6 month period 
provided for in the regulation, especially in the case of Objective 1. Indeed, the large 
volume of credits mobilized made the extension of the period necessary to meet the 
quality requirements imposed by the new regulation for the programming documents, 
notably as regards precision in the quantified objectives, prior appraisal of the expected 
impact, environmental information, and respect of the principle of additionality. It is also 
appropriate to repeat that the search for more precise definition of the priorities at the 
level of the Community Support Frameworks has made it posssible to approve the 
Operational Programmes either at the same time, or within a limited time of the adoption 
of the Community Supports Frameworks, in all cases where these programmes have been 
proposed during the preparation of these Frameworks. 
This Communication encompasses the principal elements of Community assistance 
programmed in favour of the Objective 1 and 2 regions during the new programming 
period. From a cross-reading of the texts, it summarizes the anticipated impact on the 
economic development of the beneficiary regions - including in terms of employment - the 
contribution of the operations selected for the strengthening of Community policies and 
the progress achieved in order to guarantee increased effectiveness in the use of 
Community public money. 
It is important now to ensure, in partnership, the correct and effective use of Community 
resources, and their impact on employment. The establishment of effective monitoring and 
evaluation systems will allow progress to be verified periodically and, if necessary, 
programmes will be adapted accordingly. Particular attention has to be paid to the 
strengthening and respect of the priorities of Community policies, in particular in the field 
of environment. The control of Community expenditure has to be reinforced in order to 
fight against fraud and irregularities. 
Finally, it is appropriate to mention that the Community assistance for Objectives 1 and 2 
regions will be supplemented by the operations decided in the Community Initiatives. 
I- PREPARATION OF THE NEW PROGRAMMES 
A. The main guidelines of the new regulations 
The revision of the Structural Funds regulation, approved by the Council and the 
Parliament in July 1993, was intended to achieve greater effectiveness in Community 
structural assistance while maintaining the basic principles of the 1988 -Reform. The 
most significant innovations reflected in the modified regulations relate to the 
following aspects : 
- the adaptation of the priority objectives of the Structural Funds to the actual 
consequences of current economic changes, as well as the fundamental revision of 
the European Social Fund. This revision has put a greater emphasis on political 
orientations and on a strategic approach, including the new Objectives 3 and 4 
comprising those excluded from the labour market and the adaptation of workers 
to industrial changes in production systems. Objective 5 responds to concern for 
the protection of the rural world and takes into account the adjustments in the 
fisheries sector; 
- the enlargement and reinforcement of the partnership, in particular to the 
economic and social partners. The new regulations enshrine this principle in the 
context of the provisions offered by the institutional rules and existing practices in 
each Member State; 
- the strengthening of the prior appraisal, monitoring and ex post evaluation of 
the structural operations. The need for a more quantitative analysis of development 
gaps, and for better precision of the objectives within regional strategies are only a 
few examples of the requirements of the new regulations in this regard. 
Furthermore, special attention is attached to the measurement of the effects on 
employment, indicating the priority attached to the fight against unemployment; 
- greater attention to respect for the environment in the implementation of 
Community structural policies. Through the revision of the regulations, the 
principle of "sustainable development" has been introduced into the context of 
Community structural policies, and environmental considerations have been fully 
integrated into the process of programming regional assistance; 
- a greater guarantee for respect of the principle of additionally. The regulations 
clarify this principle (SF credits must not normally replace expenditure by the 
Member States) and the criteria for verifying its respect (a Member State must 
maintain its structural public spending for all the areas covered by an objective, as 
a proportion of the global public development effort, at least at the same level, as 
in the previous programming period); 
- the adaptation of the procedure for establishing the list of areas eligible under 
Objective 2, as under Objective 5b : a broader range of eligibility criteria reflecting 
the increasing complexity of regional conversion and development problems and a 
decision making process based on a greater partnership; 
the acceleration and simplification of programming procedures is made concrete 
by the option of recourse to the technique of Single Programming Documents. 
Without going into the technical details, this option makes it possible to approve, 
in a single document, both the priorities of Community assistance and the specific 
measures granted financial aid by the Commission. During the previous period, 
these two elements were always decided in two separate documents : first the 
priorities for assistance in the CSFs, then the specific assistance operations 
(operational programmes, global grants,...); 
a greater involvement of the European Parliament in the implementation of 
Community structural policies. The regulation itself, and especially the code of 
conduct concluded between Parliament and the Commission, are the concrete 
result of this. 
B. The Commission's "frame of reference" for establishing the CSFs in Obiective 1 
regions 
In their examination of the development or conversion plans submitted by the 
Member States, the Commission departments based themselves on the experience 
acquired during the preceding period, and on a certain number of specific criteria : 
- full respect of the new regulations; 
- the quality of the strategies proposed and the relevance of the operations, also in 
terms of the objectives of "growth, competitiveness and employment" for the 
regions concerned; 
- the introduction of innovations. 
The Commission has decided to enrich its own work through systematic recourse to 
independent experts particularly in the appraisal of the regional plans and the CSFs. 
The analyses carried out in the context of the 5th periodic report have also 
constituted points of reference in the analyses. 
Overall, the quality of the documents proposed by the Member States has been 
distinctly higher than in the preceding period, although the Commission has been a 
little disappointed in its expectations; this improved quality can be partly ascribed to 
the intensive preparatory work carried out by the Commission departments with the 
Member States, with a view to the preparation of their plans, particularly in the area 
of quantification of development disparities. 
A dual objective was pursued during discussions with each of the Member States in 
the context of partnership : 
- to fill the information gaps identified in plans, principally with a view to 
responding to the new quality requirements for the CSFs. The analyses of ex-ante 
appraisal, for instance, have permitted to enrich the programming documents with 
indicators of performance and impact, particularly in the area of employment 
effects; 
- to seek the best possible balance of intervention priorities, with a view to 
strengthening the im'pact of the Funds as much as possible and to take account the 
Community dimension to take. 
It should, however, be recognized that, deriving from the yet to be completed 
1989-1993 programming, awareness of the achievements but also of the deficiencies 
of that last period has been only partial. The conclusions of the current studies on the 
ex post evaluation of the results obtained could be usefully incorporated by the 
Monitoring Committees throughout the implementation of future programmes. 
The results of the work that has been done can be found in the programming 
documents for the period 1994-99, that the Commission adopted between the end of 
February and the end of July 1994 for Objective 1 and at the end of the year 1994 for 
Objective 2. A global analysis is presented at sections II and III below; the analyses 
by programming document are joined in annex. 
II. THE CONTENT OF THE NEW OBJECTIVE 1 CSFs :_ A CONTRIBUTION TO 
ADJUSTMENT IN THE REGIONS WHOSE DEVELOPMENT IS LAGGING BEHIND 
A. The macro-economic dimension of Community structural assistance 
With regard to Community efforts to help close the gap for regions whose 
development is lagging behind, it should be recalled that considerable financial 
support has been mobilized in the context of structural policies since 1989. This 
support has undoubtedly contributed to the process of real convergence observed for 
several years in most of the less prosperous regions of the Union. 
With the increase in financial resources available since 1989, Community finances 
have acquired a dimension such that they are no longer purely of symbolic value to 
obtain acceptance of the adjustments made necessary by the Single Market and, more 
recently, the new budgetary disciplines made inevitable by the common desire for a 
minimum of economic and monetary convergence. Community structural policies 
now have a significant macro-economic dimension, especially in the States that are 
wholly or largely eligible for Objective 1. 
Based on an approach identical to the "Input-Output" analysis applied to all the 
Objective 1 areas (with the exception of the "small regions", French Overseas 
Departments, Corsica, French Hainaut, Belgian Hainaut and Flevoland), it is possible 
to derive a group of characteristic economic measurements comparable across the 
Member States or regions concerned. The percentages shown may differ a little from 
those appearing in the development by country, to the extent that each calculates 
national estimates on the basis of its own economic model (in any case, only the 
method described above could be applied to parts of the territory like the 
Mezzogiorno, the New Länder or the group that constitutes the Objective 1 regions 
in Spain). 
Share of the Structural Funds in the European budget 
The payments made from the Structural Funds over the last 10 years show that their 
share in the total budget has risen from 12% in 1984 to 30% in 1994 (including the 
Cohesion Fund). In 1999, this share is expected to be of the order of 35% of the EU 
budget. The part relating to Objective 1 rises from 65% of the total of the Funds, 
observed in 1989-93, to a percentage of 68% for the period 1994-99 (not counting 
the Cohesion Fund credits). 
Share in GDP 
The budgetary transfers allocated to the regions covered by this Objective for the 
period 1994-99, as annual averages and percentages of GDP, take on considerable 
proportions, especially for the countries benefiting from the Cohesion Fund : 3.4% in 
Greece, 3.2% in Portugal, 2.2% in Spain, and 2.3% in Ireland. If one also takes 
account of the Cohesion Fund, these percentages rise to 4.0%, 3.8%, 2.3% and 2.8% 
respectively. 
Share in investment made by the regions concerned 
In terms of gross fixed capital formation, the share of Community aid devoted to 
investment (notably under the ERDF) represents nearly 12% of all public and private 
investments in Greece, between 8 and 9% respectively in Ireland and in Portugal, 
and 7% in the Spanish regions involved. These proportions, which do not yet take 
account of the Cohesion Fund, make it possible to forecast the economic impact of 
the Funds. These proportions are, in fact, calculated in relation to total investment, 
private and public. Looking at public investment alone, these ratios become 
considerable and may amount to as much as 50% of such investment. 
Impact on growth in beneficiary States 
The first estimates relating to the agreed CSFs suggest that these will have a marked 
effect on growth and hence on employment. For Portugal and Greece the additional 
growth in GDP due to Community aid is estimated at 0.5% per year (over 1% taking 
account of the national contribution). Thus in 1999 Portuguese and Greek GDP 
should reach a level 3% higher than that obtained without Community transfer. 
The initial results of the estimates for Spain and for Ireland show an additional 
growth in GDP for the regions concerned of 0.4% per year (0.7% taking account of 
the national contribution), or GDP 2% higher in 1999 than would normally be 
achieved without aid. 
It is understood that the real impact on growth will depend in large part on the global 
economic context, and on the success of macro-economic policies and the 
development of the world economy. 
Impact on employment 
The significant macro-economic dimension now assumed by the structural transfers of 
the Union, in particular in the Member States largely covered by Objective 1 (GR, E, 
IRL, P), has direct repercussions on jobs. 
For the period 1994-99, independent analyses estimate that the implementation of the 
CSFs will mobilize about 1 million jobs per year for the Objective 1 regions as a 
whole. For example, in the case of Portugal, the corresponding figure is 190,000 
jobs per year, for Spain it is 220,000 per year, for Greece 260,000 per year, and for 
the New Länder 160,000 jobs per year. However, only some of these jobs are new 
jobs, which may distinguish them from the forecasts provided by the Member States. 
The analyses nevertheless have the advantage of providing a homogeneous and 
comparable appraisal of the repercussions of Community assistance on the active 
labour force in these Member States. 
Economic development in the last few years has unfortunately shown that with rapid 
technological evolution, the rate of growth needs to be considerably higher than at 
present to engender a significant fall in unemployment. That is one reason why there 
has been an increase in the rates of unemployment in Spain, Ireland and several 
regions of the Mezzogiorno, despite signifiant Community aid to these countries or 
regions. 
Indirect impact on other States of the Union 
All these investments will also have positive spin-off for the whole of the Union. In 
fact, a not inconsiderable share of Community transfers to the Objective 1 regions is 
redistributed in large part to the rest of the Community in the form of extra imports 
because of the importance of intra-Community trade. According to Commission 
estimates, the value of imports generated by the Funds as a ratio of the amounts of 
support granted represents 40% for the new German Länder and 30% for Portugal, 
Greece or Ireland. 
10 
B. Selectivity in Community assistance 
The economic results the Structural Funds can be expeded to achieve are linked to 
the concentration and the selective nature of the assistance, all with the direct 
objective of economic development in the beneficiary States and regions. 
- Assistance from the Funds is selective as to the areas eligible for aid; it generally 
involves only investments or operations for vocational training, which makes an 
incontestable contribution to economic development. Excluded, however, are the 
social transfers and the large operating budgets of the States and regions. 
Moreover, this selectivity is written into the regulation itself. 
- The long term structural effort undertaken to level up basic infrastructure in the 
areas of transport, energy, telecommunications and environment will be vigorously 
pursued. Their relative importance in the new CSFs (31%) will, however, be lower 
than in the preceding period (34%); the effects of infrastructure investment in 
terms of development are obviously structural but slower to bear fruit in terms of 
growth and employment. 
- Operations in the area of training and employment, as well as those directly 
linked to productive activities (in the form of investment aid, for example) 
produce economic effects, notably in terms of jobs, in the short and medium term. 
These areas represent nearly 67% in the new CSFs, compared with 64% in the 
preceding period. The case of Italy is a clear example of this, as the share devoted 
to productive activities alone will rise from 37% (89-93) to 48% (94-99). 
These key balances in the selection of priorities reflect highly significant political 
choices. They must be shared by all the political and socio-economic partners 
concerned, so that all efforts converge in the same direction, that of closing the 
economic gap. These choices vary, of course, from State to State and from region to 
region. 
Overall, the distribution of credits between the Funds resulting from the different 
priorities selected in the Objective 1 CSFs is as follows : 
ERDF 60.0% (from 46% in IRL to 71% in B) 
(productive investments, infrastructure, locally generated development, ...) 
ESF 23.5% (from 18% in I to 35% in IRE) 
(professional training, aids to employment, ...) 
EAGGF Guidance 14.6% (from 6% in B to 20% in F) 
(modernization of the agricultural sector, rural development, ...) 
FEFG 1.9% (from 0.1% in B to 6% in NL) 
(modernization of the fishing sector) 
It should be remembered that this distribution is not the result of pre-determined 
"quotas", but is the reflection of quite differentiated priorities finally adopted by 
regions. 
11 
C. Taking account of Community priorities 
When deciding on the major development actions, the partnership highlighted the 
following priorities : 
1. Investing in education and training (the "human resources" axis) 
The development and qualification of human resources remains a major challenge 
for strengthening the competitiveness of regions lagging behind, and the 
promotion of employment All the CSFs take up this priority and devote 
considerable resources to it (almost 29% of the total of CSFs, compared with 
almost 28% in the preceding period), even if the importance of the contribution of 
the ESF to the CSFs as a whole is slightly down on the preceding period, declining 
from 27.5% to 23.5%. In certain cases, the importance of "human resources" in 
the CSF is much greater that in the preceding period (New Länder, Ireland), or 
in comparison with the proposals in the Plan originally submitted to the 
Commission (Spain). 
The ESF has specialized in this area by financing professional training operations 
and aids to employment. The accent has been put on the quality of training, the 
growth in competitiveness and the increase in employment opportunities. These 
operations represent 82% of the overall effort as regards human resources. 
For its part, the ERDF is going to give more aid for investment required to 
improve the level of educational provision : essentially technical and professional, 
but also basic education in a few regions where there are still gaps (18% of the 
"human resources" axis). 
The Commission has also sought more extensive links between training operations 
and the other development priorities in the CSFs; for example to contribute to the 
priority axis of modernization of industrial enterprises and services. This is 
particularly true in the case of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Greece. However, 
in general, the level of contributions of the ESF to these other development 
priorities is a little down on its previous contributions, notably due to the 
concentration of this aid on the "human resources" axis. 
2. Greater environmental awareness 
- Investment in a better environment 
The protection and improvement of the environment is regarded as a priority in 
all the CSFs. Very much more significant financial resources than in the 
preceding period will be devoted to this. The protection and management of 
water resources, as well as the collection and treatment of water, continue to 
represent the major part of this effort. Operations relating to the correction, the 
treatment and recycling of urban and industrial waste are also planned, as well 
as the cleaning up of coastal areas and river basins, and the protection of natural 
resources. 
12 
The nature of the operations, and the amounts to be devoted to them have been 
based on a more advanced analysis of the environmental problems and needs of 
the regions concerned. In the case of Portugal, quite typical in this respect, it 
has been estimated that these investments, as well as those financed by the 
Cohesion Fund, make it possible to cover in very large part the amount of the 
public expenditure necessary for the implementation of the Community 
environmental directives that are directly linked to economic development. 
- The preventive approach 
Important progress has been achieved in the promotion and implementation of a 
more preventive approach in environmentally sensitive sectors. Thus, almost 
all the CSFs give priority to the promotion of renewable energy, the 
development of "clean technologies" or their application in industry (to cite for 
example the "Industry" programme in Ireland). However, this approach 
essentially rests on local and regional actors taking the environmental dimension 
into account. Studies carried out on this unfortunately show that these actors 
are still too insensitive to this priority or simply lack the necessary information. 
Information and training operations should be promoted throughout the period 
to remedy the deficiencies observed. 
- The role of the environmental authorities 
All the CSFs specify practical ways of involving the environmental authorities 
at the national and, if necessary, the regional level, in the implementation of the 
assistance. These methods provide in particular for their participation on the 
CSF Monitoring Committees, programmes specifically linked to the 
environment and programmes which can have a significant impact on the 
environment. They also confirm the responsibility of these authorities for 
ensuring respect of the environmental directives. This association is new as 
compared with previous practice. 
3. Contribution to the establishment of the trans-European networks 
- The overall financial contribution 
The White Paper identifies the development of the trans-European networks in 
transport, telecommunications and energy, as a factor which can contribute to 
economic growth in the Union. The Structural Funds will continue to devote 
large sums to these areas (between 4.8 and 7.7 billion ECU, or 5 to 8% of total 
Community aid to the CSFs). This effort involves all the Objective 1 regions, 
with the exception of the New Länder, where the mode of assistance selected 
at the national level does not provide for this type of financing by the Structural 
Funds. 
As far as transport infrastructure is concerned, for instance, more than 50% of 
investment cofinanced in this field by the ERDF contributes to the establishment 
and development of transeuropean networks, as well as to the access to these 
networks. These investments contribute considerably to the implementation of 
the guidelines approved by the Council on 29 October 1993 concerning the 
transeuropean transport network, in particular the development of a 
transeuropean road network, as well as to the Commission's proposal 
concerning Community guidelines for the development of transeuropean 
transport networks. 
13 
- Co-financing of certain priority projects identified by the European Council 
It is still difficult at this stage to identify precisely the individual projects which 
will be co-financed; starting from the list of priority projects identified by the 
European Council in Corfu and updated in Essen, the information currently 
available leads to the following conclusions : 
Transport networks : of the 14 projects on the priority list, some will receive 
ERDF finance : the Pathe and Via Egnitia-Thessaloniki motorway, the Lisbon-
Valladolid motorway (Portuguese section) and the Cork-Dublin-Belfast-Larne 
rail link. All three projects will be partially co-financed by the Cohesion Fund; 
Electricity networks : of the 5 priority projects selected, 2 are eligible for 
Objective 1 (Italy/Greece and Spain/Portugal interconnections); the effective 
financial contribution of the ERDF will duly take account of the economic 
viability of the projects; 
Gas networks : the 5 projects included in the priority list relating to the regions 
are eligible under the ERDF and will probably be selected in part under the 
heading of the Structural Funds (GR and PORT gas networks); SP/PORT 
interconnections, Algeria/Morocco/ESP gas pipeline. 
4. Contribution to research and technological development : increased 
competitiveness for enterprises 
As regards strengthening competitiveness, the Funds help the regions to improve 
their basic scientific and technical capacities and encourage the dissemination of 
new technologies to enterprises. They also directly reinforce the possible synergy 
with the Union's 4th Framework Programme for research and development. 
The effort of the Structural Funds for "technological cohesion" in the new CSFs 
amounts to some 3.8 billion ECU, or 4% on average of the total amount of the 
CSFs. to this should be added the assistance from the ESF to the development of 
human resources in the field of research and technological development (more than 
17% of the ESF contribution to the priority "human resources"). In the case of 
Italy, the R&D effort has even doubled by comparison with the preceding period 
(from 3.3% to 6.6% of the total of the CSF). 
The Commission has also sought an integrated approach in the area of R & D and 
a better "targeting" on a limited number of certain specific needs. In this area, it is 
possible to speak of real synergy between two Community policies. 
5. Local and rural development : the trump card of endogenous potential 
All the new CSFs reflect the importance of local and rural development operations 
for the creation of jobs in less favoured regions. The operations in this domain 
represent more than 10% of the Structural Funds effort, or twice as much as in the 
preceding period. 
An important effort has been made by the Commission to slant the operations 
towards highlighting the initiative of local actors, and the provision of services to 
enterprises, with the accent on the integral character of the services offered, and 
the establishment of partnership structures permitting networking. The 
Commission has also increased the awareness of its partners of new areas of action 
in the CSFs in order to obtain appropriate coverage. In this respect, the Structural 
Funds contribute to the exploitation of new strata of employment; the following 
examples of this diversification can be cited : 
14 
- renovation of villages, and marketing of local products (D); 
- highlighting of tourism resources, and support to technological transference (I); 
- promotion of crafts and the creation of development agencies (P); 
- urban regeneration. 
By comparison with the preceding period, greater recourse to "global grants" is 
also planned for the implementation of these operations, notably in Italy, Spain 
and Ireland. 
15 
D. Application of the guidelines under the new regulations 
/. A consolidated and enlarged partnership : some progress 
- the regional partnership: consolidation of the experience of the past 
Despite the experience and expertise acquired during the preceding period, 
several Member States are still reticent about full and open regional partnership. 
The arrangements for the< partnership process with the regions (association or 
consultation) during the preparation of the plans, have varied from one 
Member State to another as a function of the institutional structure of each. The 
following few examples illustrate the path that has been travelled : 
* In Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands, the 
regional elements of the plan have been prepared, to varying degrees, by the 
regions concerned. They have also been listened to concerning adjustments 
which have proved necessary in order to integrate regional priorities in the 
overall strategy of the plan. 
* In Ireland, the development strategy has been defined taking account of the 
recommendations formulated by the "Sub-regional Review Committees" and 
the preparation of the development plan has given rise to wide consultation 
at the national and sub-regional level. 
* In Portugal, the definition of strategic regional guidelines has been the 
subject of preparatory discussions, notably with the Governments of the 
autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, as well as with the 
economic and social partners at the national level. The development plan has 
also been discussed in the Economic and Social Council and in Parliament. 
Sometimes the regional partners have participated more in the establishment of 
the CSFs (Germany, United Kingdom). The most concrete result is found in 
the CSF for the New Länder, which provides, for the first time, for the 
financing of regional operations, outside the "Common Task" of federal 
regional policy. 
The existence of Regional Monitoring Committees is now a consolidated 
practice. These committees constitute a preeminent forum for ensuring a truly 
triangular partnership. Even in the Member States where regionalization is least 
advanced (Portugal, Greece or Ireland), these committees will continue to 
ensure, thanks to a pragmatic approach, progressive participation by regional, 
indeed local actors, in the monitoring of assistance. 
16 
- the association of the economic and social partners : some progress, but still 
timid 
The implementation of this new provision under the regulation varies 
considerably from one Member State to another. In some cases the economic 
and social partners have been invited to make their contribution to the 
preparation of programming (the Netherlands and Ireland) and/or have been 
consulted on the content of the plans in working groups (Greece, France). In 
other cases, like Spain and Portugal, it is in the Economic and Social Council 
that they have been asked to give their opinion. 
The participation of these partners in the Monitoring Committees remains the 
exception. It has been clearly provided for in the SPDs for Hainaut (Belgium) 
and Flevoland (Netherlands). In other cases, for example Greece, Italy and 
Portugal, the principle is more or less clearly accepted. The arrangements and 
the nature of this participation still remain to be defined however. 
2. An initial appraisal of respect for additionally 
All the CSFs contain : 
- an initial prior appraisal of additionality, to be respected by all the regions 
eligible for an Objective. This appraisal is based on financial tables, comparing 
the global development effort made in the course of the preceding period with 
that envisaged for the new period; 
- specific arrangements for monitoring; 
- a description of the administrative procedures wLJi ensure transparency of 
financial flows towards the eligible regions. 
Obtaining this information has been one of the most difficult aspects of the 
discussions with the Member States. Nevertheless the situation is better than in the 
preceding period, when the Commission did not receive any relevant information 
from certain Member States (I, UK, F-DOM) at the end of the programming 
period, in spite of repeated requests. 
The weak point of this initial appraisal is the rather uncertain quality of the 
estimates made by the Member States. In effect, for the period 1994-1999, certain 
forecasts seem vague because of the extreme difficulty the Member States have in 
making multiannual budgetary forecasts; moreover the Member States cannot be 
bound in advance to achieve their forecasts; they must be confirmed or replaced 
progressively by more precise estimates. So vigorous monitoring of the public 
expenditure involved in the Member States is going to be necessary, according to 
the precise arrangements written into the programming documents, "in order to 
ensure the full application of the principle of additionality. 
17 
Finally it should be noted that Germany (New Länder) is the only Member State 
for which a derogation from the general minimal rule has been accepted 
(derogation from the maintenance of the average annual level at least constant 
from one programming period to another) because of the extraordinary level of 
Germany's eligible public expenditure in 1991-1993 in the five New Länder and 
Eastern Berlin. 
3. Strengthening prior appraisal, monitoring and evaluation 
Important progress has been made in the quantified analysis of the disparities and 
lags in development (the "cohesion gap") for the major sectors for assistance. 
These analyses formed the framework, during the negotiations, for the key 
strategic choices. 
All the plans and CSFs have been subject to a systematic appraisal on the part of 
the Commission departments, notably supported by a network of independent 
external assessors. Their comments and suggestions have contributed widely to 
strengthening the. Commission's position during the negotiations with the Member 
States. Leading to a better mastery of the dossiers by the departments, this work 
has made it possible both to prepare the amendments to the original texts, and to 
identify clearly the consequences of the choices made. 
With the exception of small-sized areas, the documents contain an estimate of the 
anticipated macro-economic impact of carrying out operations. Definite progress 
has been made in the area of quantification of the Objectives to be achieved in the 
various areas of assistance. This quantification is generally quite systematic in 
terms of the physical impact of co-financed operations while the measurement of 
the socio-economic impact is limited, when it exists, to the effects on employment. 
It must be recognized that, in the majority of cases, the negotiations have ended in 
the identification if not in the quantification of indicators of results on which the 
arrangements for future monitoring and intermediate and ex-post evaluation will 
be based. 
The necessary provisions are also planned to ensure effective implementation and 
monitoring of assistance. Particular efforts can be seen in the Greek CSF 
(improvement in procedures for public works, improvement in the administrative 
and managerial capacity for running the programmes) and the Italian CSF 
(strengthening of the monitoring system, training for national and regional officials 
responsible for monitoring). 
Finally, common provisions have been integrated into each programming 
document, defining in a precise way the arrangements for monitoring and 
evaluation to be put in place throughout the implementation phase. It will be 
appropriate to supervise carefully the concrete realization of this step which, alone, 
will be capable of guaranteeing a real convergence between the results hoped for 
and the objectives attained. 
18 
4. Integration of operations under the Funds and coordination with the other 
financial instruments 
- Integration between the Funds 
The integration of the Structural Funds does not just relate to the area of 
human resources, as illustrated earlier. Efforts have been made in other areas, 
such as tourism (e.g. in Ireland) and local and rural development (e.g. in 
Greece). In the Italian CSF, it is estimated that 40% of the total expenditure of 
the CSF is the subject of joint Community co-financing from several Funds. In 
other cases, on the other hand, (e.g. Spain), the degree of integration remains, 
in the Commission's view, disappointing . 
- The Cohesion Fund 
The co-ordination of assistance from the Funds with that provided under the 
Cohesion Fund has been hampered by the difficulties resulting from the 
different arrangements for providing assistance under these instruments. The 
assistance under the Cohesion Fund is granted at project level. This made it 
difficult to determine the Cohesion Fund's contribution in the framework of the 
multiannual programming approach of the Structural Funds. Consequently, the 
financial plans of the CSFs concerned, with the exception of Ireland, indicate 
the range of allocations expressed under the regulation establishing the 
Cohesion fund. 
As far as the breakdown between the "transport" and "environment" fields is 
concerned, it has not been possible to indicate this breakdown in the Portuguese 
and Irish CSFs. In the case of Greece and Spain, an agreed indicative 
breakdown of 50/50 has been provisionally retained. 
- The role of the EI B 
The EIB has been more closely associated with the exercise of preparing CSFs 
and SPDs for Objective 1 by comparison with the preceding period. 
First of all, it has contributed directly to the appraisal of the plans presented by 
the Member States. It reviewed activity between 1989 and 1993 and carried out 
an analysis of each of the plans. It is appropriate to emphasize, in this respect, 
the absence from most of the plans submitted by the Member States of figures 
relating to loans by the EEB, and this in spite of repeated requests from the 
Commission and the EIB. 
Furthermore, the Bank has actively participated in work undertaken by the 
Commission and the Member States to establish the new programmes. It has 
provided details of the possible amounts of loans in the course of the period 
1994-1999, and where appropriate a breakdown by major sectors. For the new 
period, recourse to EEB loans is estimated at about 15% of the total 
expenditure anticipated in the CSFs. However, the EIB has not felt able, 
because of its operating methods and the variable conditions of the financial 
market, to commit itself to these multiannual sums. 
19 
5. Respect of Community commitments and policies 
- Apart from the improvements in respect for environmental policy, the new 
CSFs make specific provision for respect of competition and the directives 
relating to the opening up of "public contracts". 
- As to the application of the principle of equal opportunities for men and 
women, this is explicitly mentioned for the first time in the regulations for the 
Funds. Above all the ESF will finance operations targeting the promotion of 
this principle. For example, the Irish CSF stipulates that 4% of ESF funding in 
the human resources area shall be earmarked for this type of operation (notably 
through integration of women into the labour market). 
- Furthermore, it is appropriate to recall that on 11 July 1994 the Commission 
agreed an application regulation relating to irregularities and the recovery of 
sums wrongly paid in the context of the financing of structural policies as well 
as the organization of an information system in this area. This regulation will 
make it possible to combat irregularities and fraud, and to undertake 
preventive measures and the necessary prosecutions 
6. The simplification of programming procedures 
In drawing up the programming documents, the Commission has, with the 
agreement of the Member States concerned, applied the following procedures : 
- The simplified approach of Single Programming Documents for the 11 
regions of restricted geographic size and relatively limited financial assistance 
(e.g. Flevoland, the French ODs, Merseyside, ...) 
- The classic approach of Community Support Frameworks for the 6 Member 
States wholly or largely covered by Objective 1, and beneficiaries of significant 
sums (e.g. Greece, the new German Länder, ...). In CSFs covering several 
eligible regions, an increased effort has been made to identify the regional 
incidence of multiregional operations. This is particularly true for the Spanish 
CSF in which over 90% of the credits have been regionalized from the outset 
and where, single Monitoring Committees have also been introduced covering 
all operations in a region and with one Committee covering each multi-regional 
Priority. 
Where the classic CSF approach has been used, programming has already been 
completed, or soon will be, with the approval of all the Operational 
Programmes, and other assistance (notably global grants). These will number 
some 160, a much smaller number than the 513 instances of assistance in the 
preceding period 
7. Strengthening the involvement of the EP in the management of the Structural 
Funds 
Since the revision of the Funds in 1993, the code of conduct signed between 
Parliament and the Commission provides regular information to Parliament about 
the application of the Funds. The Commission and its services try to fulfil this 
obligation diligently. All the regulatory acts derived in principle from the sole 
power of the Commission, such as the "anti-fraud" rules or the provisions for 
information and publicity, as well as the launching of all the Community initiatives, 
have been the subject of an in-depth consultation with the relevant parliamentary 
committees. 
20 
E. Innovations : not very numerous overall 
The major priorities retained in the CSFs express the continuity which has been 
sought in the regional strategies in order to complete the investments and operations 
begun in the preceding period. This flexibility as compared with the preceding period 
has made it possible to introduce certain innovations, though not as many as 
expected. The preventive approach to environmental issues, the new areas covered in 
local development and the innovations in monitoring have already been mentioned. 
Other aspects relate to : 
New> Objective 4 
This new Objective of the Structural Funds, aimed at facilitating the adaptation of 
workers to industrial changes and changes in production systems, allows the CSFs to 
take more preventive action particularly for the benefit of people threatened with 
unemployment. The amount earmarked for such operations lies between 12 and 15% 
of the ESF resources in the CSFs, and even reaches 28% in Greece. The precise 
nature of the operations to be financed under this heading will be mentioned in the 
Operational Programmes. The following examples clearly illustrate the preventive 
approach proper to this Objective : 
- the creation of regional observatories making it easier to anticipate needs; 
- accompanying measures for workers to encourage preventive training; 
- improvement in the provision of continuous training. 
Structures of the Fisheries sector 
The difficult restructuring of the fisheries sector requires the willingness as much of 
the Commission as of the Member States. To this end all structural operations in this 
sector have been integrated in the Objective 1 programmes. Several Member States 
have profited from this integration by making use of the ERDF (infrastructures) and 
the ESF (further training) in favour of the fisheries sphere. The financial envelopes 
allocated to the FIFG are, besides, substantial and represent a significant proportion 
of total Community structural aid. 
Urban renewal 
The problems of large towns constitute a new challenge for Community regional 
policy. The multiple aspects of these problems necessitate an integrated and 
multidisciplinary strategy, and require significant financing and innovative and 
imaginative approaches, given the complexity of the problems. The search for such a 
strategy to attack the problems of urban areas in crisis is henceforth written into most 
of the CSFs as a priority (e.g. Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Merseyside). This area 
will be topped up with credits from the Community's URBAN initiative. 
21 
The contribution of private capital 
In general, a more extensive association of the private sector in the financing of new 
programmes has been sought, especially in view of the budgetary problems that all 
these countries are facing. A special effort has been made in the Greek CSF to 
mobilize private capital for the financing of the major trans-European network 
projects (system of concessions for highway infrastructure, creation of specific 
"project manager" agencies for the implementation and monitoring of these works). 
This aspect will contribute to the success of a significant part of this CSF. 
Investment in health 
The revised regulations have enlarged the range of action of the ERDF in investment 
in education and health. The application of this new provision in the CSFs remains 
voluntarily limited, and principally concerns the health sector where measures include 
medical centres and the purchase of medical equipment in the less prosperous 
Objective 1 regions. 
22 
III. THE NEW PROGRAMMES FOR THE OBJECTIVE 2_ REGIONS : A RESPONSE TO 
INDUSTRIAL DECLINE AND FINDING A NEW ECONOMIC FUTURE FOR WEAKENED 
REGIONS 
A. Eligibility of industrial regions in decline 
Two amendments were introduced by the revised Structural Funds regulations for the 
establishment of the list of areas eligible under Objective 2 (and 5b). Theiirst of these 
comprised a broader range of eligibility criteria, reflecting the increasing complexity 
of regional problems and the need to take into account the restructuring problems of 
the fisheries sector. Secondly a decision-making process based on partnership, 
included an increased role for Member States allowing them to initially submit their 
proposals for eligible areas to the Commission. The difficult economic climate, and 
more particularly the increase in unemployment as well as increased external 
competition, including from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, had an 
important impact on the atmosphere in which the lists of areas eligible under 
Objective 2 were drawn up. In total, the proposals submitted by Member States in the 
autumn of 1993 covered 78 million inhabitants, 22.5% of the Community's overall 
population. Between October and mid-December 1993 the Commission held many 
bilateral meetings with the Member States concerned in order to bring about a 
concentration of assistance in line with the Structural Funds regulations. 
The final list of areas under Objective 2 in 1994-96, as adopted by the Commission on 
21 January 1994 after consultation of the relevant committee, covers 58.1 million 
inhabitants, representing a coverage of 16.8% of the Community's population, a 
percentage comparable with the previous programming period. In view of the difficult 
economic context, the Commission feels this concentration of effort to be reasonable 
and acceptably close to the concentration guideline of 15% set out in the introduction 
to the regulation. This result also showed that, although the widening of the eligibility 
criteria contributed to excessive demands from Member States, it did not lead to as 
great a dispersion of Community aid as might have been feared thanks to effective 
partnership in identifying the most seriously affected areas. The result, nevertheless, 
has been a somewhat more fragmented geographical pattern which in turn creates 
other difficulties, for example in the verification of additionality. 
The differences between Member States in terms of eligible population are, however, 
less great than during the previous period, reflecting the way in which the problems of 
industrial decline have become more general. It should be noted that 53% of the 
population covered was chosen on the basis of the three basic criteria which represent 
the key point of reference for the appreciation of the problems of industrial decline on 
a Community-wide basis. This is lower than the equivalent percentage for the 
previous period (77%) and shows the positive response of the Commission to the 
wishes of the Member States for increased importance to be attached to the 
supplementary criteria which allow for a wider appreciation of the effects of industrial 
decline. Among the latter, sectoral problems accounted for 32% of the population 
covered, a clear demonstration of the effect of the permanent shake-ouf of industry 
brought on by the recession. Very few areas were included due to the restructuring of 
the fisheries sector. 
23 
B. The financial contribution of the Structural Funds and the characteristics of Obiective 
2 areas 
The financial contribution of the Structural Funds 
The programming documents relate to the first three year programming period 
(1994-1996), during which time the Objective 2 areas will have at their disposal a 
total appropriation commitment of ECU 7,163 million (1994 prices) meaning that, 
after deduction of 8% earmarked for Community Initiatives, ECU 6,977 million 
(1994 prices) will be available for Objective 2 actions. Taken with the financial 
envelope of ECU 7,945 million (1994 prices) for the second programming period 
1997-1999, total resources for Objective 2 amount to 11% of the Structural Funds 
1994-1999. Structural Funds resources available for Objective 2 regions have thus 
increased significantly as a result of the Edinburgh budget agreement with the average 
annual allocation of Structural Funds support per person in the Objective 2 areas 
around 33% higher for the 1994-1996 period than in 1989-1993 (ECU 40 per capita 
in 1994-1999 compared to ECU 30, 1989-1993). 
The characteristics of Objective 2 areas 
Objective 2 regions, distinguished since the Reform of the Structural Funds of 1989, 
present the following characteristics : 
- they concern, in general, developed regions but whose previously vigorous 
economies have been weakened by structural change; 
- they are subject to serious unemployment resulting from job-losses in traditional 
industries and an insufficient creation of jobs in new activities; 
- they are difficult to revitalize economically, not only because of excessive 
dependence on a reduced number of declining industries but equally because of the 
pc - quality of the environment and the run-down condition of infrastructure 
together with an entrepreneurial climate that did not favour the nurturing of new 
activities; 
- to a greater extent than in the 1989-93 period, they concern urban communities 
with high unemployment rates and/or derelict industrial areas. 
Socio-economic problems in Objective 2 areas are therefore usually of a more specific 
nature than those in Objective 1 and it is essential to : 
- emphasise the development of productive investment; 
- thereby offer alternative employment to those trapped in declining industries; 
- closely co-ordinate the interventions of the ERDF with those of the ESF and the 
other instruments. The economic prosperity of a region is in the long run 
determined by the skills and versatility of its labour force; the development of, as 
well as investment in, Human Resources is itself to be seen as a driver for 
successful restructuring. 
24 
R&D potential in Objective 2 areas is likewise relatively high in terms of basic 
equipment, including the existence of research centres and universities. However, 
obstacles to realising such potential is linked to a mismatch between these resources 
and the technological capacity of local businesses. Therefore, measures to improve 
the dissemination of research results and the transfer of innovation and technology to 
local businesses needed to be encouraged. 
Objective 2 areas are, in general, well equipped with basic infrastructure facilities. 
Therefore, infrastructure investment should be directed towards : 
- the planning of declining industrial areas, including urban communities; 
- infrastructures whose modernisation is necessary for the creation or development 
of economic activity; 
- the renovation of urban and industrial derelict sites, especially given the 
importance of a pleasant environment for the establishment of new economic 
activity. 
25 
C. The main results of the negotiations 
In view of the above, the Commission, the Member States and the regions, in 
partnership, agreed to concentrate assistance under European regional policy on job 
creation by developing supporting measures which promote investment and by 
improving the qualification of working people. 
- Basic infrastruture facilities are only supported if it can be shown that they 
directly create jobs, or provide direct access to areas with economic development 
potential. Where possible, priority is given to the improvement of public transport, 
especially in areas of greatest needs. 
- A major effort is aimed at promoting locally generated development and increasing 
the competitiveness of the regional business sector, especially by helping small 
and medium sized enterprises. Measures include aids to investment and actions 
to improve the business environment for SMEs (provision for common services, 
increased risk capital provision, market research, training for business people, 
etc.). 
- Training is of major significance in bringing about the conversion of industrial 
areas in decline. The Objective 2 programmes promote training to tackle problems 
created by the mismatch between skills available and skills in demand on the local 
labour market. To address this, the programmes promote the analysis of local 
labour market needs at the regional and sectoral level. Programmes also seek to 
allocate resources to training actions in a way that complements actions financed 
under Objective 3. 
- The importance of R&D for regional development is recognised in all 
programmes. Priority is given to investment in R&D and technology transfer in 
ways which will improve the competitiveness of the productive sector, especially 
SMEs. 
- Operations take account of the environment in ways to promote sustainable 
development : rehabilitation of sites and buildings for new uses, removal of 
eyesores, incentives for green products and new technologies, promotion of "green 
tourism", preventive measures. 
- The concentration of a predetermined share of programme funding in areas 
characterised by high long term unemployment and low income constitutes an 
innovation in the 1994-1996 programmes. The aim of these actions is the 
empowerment of local people in small groups, to organise themselves to promote 
actions that improve their living conditions. This aspect is of particular value for 
promoting equal opportunities for women and for ethnic minorities. 
- As a result of the negotiations, the role of the private sector as a direct 
contributor to the size of the programmes has increased substantially since the 
previous period. This increases the leverage effect of Community resources. 
- Most Objective 2 programmes establish overall programme targets for creation 
and safeguarding of jobs which will allow proper monitoring of the programme. 
26 
- An effort has been made in all programmes to establish a transparent appraisal 
and selection system for projects and actions which allows all members of the 
regional partnerships equal access to the programme. -This includes clear eligibility 
and selection criteria for projects and actions including the quantification of 
expected results. 
27 
D. An analysis of the development priorities 
Expenditure categories 
The following provides an overall analysis of agreed Objective 2 financing on the 
basis of the four main expenditure categories (plus Technical Assistance) contained in 
the table at Annex I attached. It should be borne in mind that the-expenditure 
breakdown utilised has had to take account of certain differences of classification or 
interpretation between Member States, for example in the definition of 
"environmental" as opposed to "regeneration" measures, whilst a degree of overlap 
between such sectors is also inevitable. The classification employed nonetheless 
comprises a consistent and sustainable approach also reflecting the grouping of 
expenditure categories originally devised by the Commission for the global financial 
tables of the SPDs and CSFs. The analysis incorporates appropriate illustrations from 
the SPDs, particularly where examination of the financial annexes indicates that 
significant,or indeed most, expenditure has been devoted to a type of action in a 
particular region, as well as other particularly noteworthy or innovative examples. 
The global distribution of resources between categories is as follows : 
• Productive Environment - includes all types of measures to improve the growth 
and competitiveness of industry and businesses,especially SMEs, as well as 
diversification from declining industry, e.g. tourism, and supporting infrastructure 
where justified by development needs : 45.2% 
• Human Resources - primarily training measures with particular emphasis given to 
the need for continuing training focussed on those integrated into the world of 
work but who need further training, experience and reskilling to ensure they can 
meet the existing or anticipated demand of the region . This also encompasses 
R&D particularly where linked to practical application and the development of 
new products: 34.1% 
• Planning and Regeneration - the improvement and laying out of run-down indus­
trial and urban areas including the reclamation of contaminated land, any neces­
sary on-site infrastructure as well as certain environmental measures : 13.7% 
• Environment - measures linked to the protection of the environment, for 
example to promote "green" tourism, promoting clean technologies, new 
methods of production and the treatment and recycling of industrial waste 
and water etc : 5.7% 
(Technical Assistance) 1.3% 
Overall, the distribution of credits between the Funds resulting from the different 
priorities selected in the SPDs (and CSF) for 1994-96 is as follows : 
ERDF : 77% (from 69% in NL to 86% in L) 
ESF : 23% (from 31 % in NL to 14% in L) 
28 
ft should also be repeated that the respective shares of the Funds are not the result of 
pre-determined "quotas" but the reflection of needs and priorities agreed in 
partnership. Indeed, as a result of these discussions, the share of the ESF has, for 
example, been increased with respect to the plans originally proposed by the Member 
States. 
/. Productive Environment 
In line with the importance attached to productive activity as a key factor for 
growth and employment in the negotiation of the new Objective 2 programming 
documents, financing of MECU 3,151 has been provided for the category, 
comprising 45.2% of total Objective 2 expenditure 1994-96. Similarly, apart from 
Luxembourg (17%) and Germany (33%), individual Member States devote 
between 40% and 52% of their Objective 2 resources to the three main fields of 
activity in support of the productive environment as set out below. 
Industry and services 
- Investment in industry and services, all types. 
Around 20% of total expenditure on the productive environment (MECU 638) 
(9% of total Objective 2) has been devoted to general investments for the 
benefit of industry and services although this encompasses wide variations 
between Member States,for example, MECU 254 and MECU 248 provided in 
France and U.K. (36% and 24% respectively of each country's finance for the 
productive environment sector) but only MECU 24 (10%) in Germany. 
Within the Economic Development priority of the SPD for Languedoc-
Roussillon, (F) MECU 35.6 (or 50% of the region's total Objective 2 budget) 
has been accorded for the Development of Businesses, (itself co-ordinated with 
measures under Priority 3 for Human Resources). This central pillar of the 
programme will thus assist the development and creation of companies with 
material investments (telecommunications, information technology, office 
buildings where linked to development activity etc.), as well as non-material 
investment (studies, aids to recruitment; business re-organisation etc.); the 
strengthening of companies' own resources (eg. through loan guarantees) and 
support for collective actions. 
- SMEs 
A key part of European efforts to boost growth and employment is to assist 
locally generated development and to build an enterprise culture by helping 
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). In overall terms, 17% of total 
Objective 2 resources have been specifically allocated to the SME sector 
although,for example.the Spanish CSF and the Italian SPD "provide for 
MECU 290 and MECU 191, or 49% and 57% respectively, of total resources 
for productive investment compared to an average of 37%. 
29 
In Piedmont (I), where MECU 50 has been allocated for the Development and 
Strengthening of the Fabric of SMEs, aids to investment and services for 
business will cover financial aspects.management and organisation with the 
overall aim of supporting around 3,000 businesses, involving 27,000 jobs 
(about 1,500 new posts). 
In addition, the ESF will complement these actions by financing the training of 
staff in new production techniques including those linked to the promotion of 
quality and business certification. Over the three years it is expected that 522 
courses will be run for the benefit of around 5,220 managers, executives and 
technicians. 
Tourism 
The aim of diversification away from traditional but declining industry into service 
industries,in particular tourism, is particularly evident,for example, in the U.K. and 
France where around 20% ( MECU 207 and MECU 148 respectively) of 
productive sector resources have been allocated to tourism compared to an 
average allocation of 15% (7% of total Objective 2). Italy has also devoted 
significant resources to this area. 
In Lorraine (F) 10% of the region's total Objective 2 resources are being used to 
develop its tourist potential with the aim of increasing turnover by 15%. This will 
be supported through the professionalisation of activities and structuring of 
tourism offers with short term training to improve and adapt personnel to tourist 
activities accompanied by longer technical or multi-skilled training in management, 
marketing and communication. 
The overall Objective of the Tourism priority in the SPD for Tuscany (I) is to 
increase the number of visitor beds by 5% to the benefit of around 2,000 
businesses providing a total of 100 new jobs and with 1,700 others safeguarded. 
Objective 2 expenditure of MECU 14.2 is primarily aimed at the modernisation of 
tourist infrastructure and improving services to customers (e.g. telephone 
reservation, welcome facilities). 
Support infrastructure 
As indicated earlier, an approach has in general been pursued whereby total 
Objective 2 resources for the provision of infrastructure has been reduced in 
favour, in particular, of growth and employment-creating activities.Likewise, 
efforts have been made to ensure that any expenditure that is undertaken on 
infrastructure supports the development of the productive sector.Total expenditure 
on support infrastructure amounts to MECU 874 or around 28% of the total 
sector (12.5% of total Objective 2), a proportion which also generally applies to 
Member States as a whole. 
The sum of MECU 19.6 designated for such reasons in the SPD for Liège (B), for 
example, encompasses the construction of access roads necessary for the 
development of new or existing industrial zones and accompanying employment 
(e.g. Verviers - access to the Stembert industrial zone : two-way road of 1 km). 
30 
In the case of Spain, (see also Part D 3, Urban areas^ the Commission considered 
that the transport network in that country's Objective 2 regions was relatively 
deficient in relation to other Euorpean areas in industrial decline. As a result the 
CSF may exceptionally, for 1994-95 devote up to 40% of its total ERDF 
allocation to transport investments declining to 25% in 1996 with similarly 
reducing co-financing rates. 
2. Training 
As with the emphasis given to actions related to productive investment, 
expenditure (MECU 2,383) in~the field of training (34.1% of total Objective 2) 
has been concentrated, on training for jobs. Actions have been specifically geared 
to eventual employment. In particular, support for training has been balanced 
between the needs of businesses as expressed through the job market and the 
needs of workers excluded from employment opportunities. Likewise, a number of 
programmes contain special measures targeted on the worst-off and socially 
marginalised communities within the eligible areas where the demand side has 
indicated the need to establish particular skill requirements. 
Training for jobs 
About 66% (MECU 1,571) of total expenditure for training has been allocated to 
training measures and other actions aimed at obtaining employment for those 
concerned, with a broadly similar take-up by Member State as for H.R as a whole. 
In general, the North West of England has a slightly lower percentage of the 
workforce with degrees or above than the national average and a slightly higher 
proportion of people with low or no qualifications. The SPD for Greater 
Manchester,Lancashire and Cheshire, which at MECU 97.8 incorporates the 
highest amount of U.K. Objective 2 financing for training, accordingly recognizes 
that the workforce must continually update and improve their skills and knowledge 
in order to adjust to technological,organisational and market change. 
The depth of industrial restructuring of the region also means that many workers 
face redundancy and exclusion from the labour market unless alternative 
employment opportunities are found. 
The SPD thus includes a focus on support for small business, diversification of 
SMEs, innovation, culture and tourism and the attraction of more inward 
investment. The programme promotes the clear integration of the ESF with the 
ERDF, and the resulting potential for greater synergy and impact, including, for 
example, ESF measures for training for micro and small business needs and 
training linked to inward investment. 
31 
Training facilities 
Overall financing of training facilities and on related equipment comprises about 
5% of total training expenditure. Of the latter, a particular example concerns two 
measures amounting to a total of MECU 13.44 in Brittany (F) to provide 
assistance to vocational training establishments in order to develop cooperation 
with local businesses and also to increase the capacity of vocational training 
centres. 
Research and Development 
Funding of Reseach and Development comprises almost 30% (MECU 691) of 
expenditure under Human Resources (in line with the classification adopted by the 
Commission). 
Denmark, in particular North Jutland, is, for example, devoting 36% of its total 
Objective 2 allocation to this field, emphasising a different approach to past 
programmes with a new focus on the service industry. This applies especially to 
operations with a high R&D content as an integrated part of manufacturing and 
the development of new products. It is estimated that 60% of the SMEs 
participating in the SPD will introduce new technologies or introduce new 
products. 
3. Planning and Regeneration 
Operations in the context of the above concern the improvement of run-down 
areas whose character is industrial and or urban, including : the cleaning up and 
preparation of such areas, demolition and redevelopment of disused industrial 
buildings and conversion of their sites, including the modernization and conversion 
of premises for SMEs, the creation of green areas and minor works for improving 
the appearance of localities and,where justified, minor roads giving access to the 
locations of new activities or other indispensable infrastructure. Expenditure on 
the planning and regeneration of both industrial sites and urban areas in the 
Objective 2 regions amounts to MECU 956 or around 13.7 % of Objective 2 as a 
whole; as regards industrial sites, operations are being undertaken primarily in 
Germany (18% of its total Objective 2 allocation) U.K. and France with more 
specifically urban problems adressed mainly by Spain and France. 
Industrial sites 
In Germany MECU 65 (55% of the Member State's total allocation under this 
heading) will be spent in the Objective 2 area of Nordrhein Westfalen under a 
Priority for Redeveloping Disused Industrial and Military sites for industrial reuse. 
The reclamation of industrial wasteland, mainly for the benefit of new and 
expanding SMEs, is one of the main measures under this priority. 
32 
Despite the diversification which took place in the 1950s and 1960s, the economic 
history of Industrial South Wales has until relatively recently been dominated by 
coal and steel. Restructuring in the steel industry, with significant improvements in 
competitiveness and productivity, has led to a heavy loss of jobs as has also been 
the case for the coal industry resulting from the drop in demand as countries 
search for alternative energy sources. 
The serious physical consequences of industrial decline in the region will primarily 
be tackled under Priority 2 of the SPD (Action for Industry and Business) in a 
Measure amounting to MECU 28.2 to encourage economic development and 
diversification by providing sites and premises to cater for businesses of all sizes, 
including start ups, expansions and large scale inward investment. This will 
encompass the provision, upgrading or redevelopment of industrial sites, necessary 
on-site infrastructure, premises,environmental improvements and the reclamation 
of derelict and contaminated land. Outputs will include 14 hectares of reclaimed 
land, 6 environmental improvements to industrial sites and the creation or 
safeguarding of 4,500 jobs. 
Urban areas 
Almost all of the resources (MECU 357) for the regeneration of urban areas have 
been taken up in broadly equal measure by Spain and France. Under the Priority 
of "Local and Urban Development" of the Spanish CSF and in line with its role in 
financing city areas whose "modernization or laying out is a prerequisite for the 
creation or development of economic activity" ERDF resources of MECU 174 will 
finance measures including the renovation of buildings for social or economic 
activity and the regeneration of degraded urban environment. 
Exceptionally, and for the 1994-96 period only (reflecting the "transitional" nature 
of the Spanish programmes), activities which would normally be the responsibility 
of the public authorities (including urban waste treatment, improvement of water 
quality, flood prevention) will also be co-financed, as well as suburban railway 
lines and the metropolitan transport network. 
In Nord-Pas-de-Calais (F) ERDF resources of MECU 25 constitute the highest 
expenditure of the French regions in this field and will help implement an urban 
renewal policy concentrated on the communes in the coal-mining area and on the 
North-East side of the metropolis. Actions will include a diagnostic analysis of the 
region concerned, the restoration of urban wasteland and anti-noise and other 
improvements in the vicinity of existing motorways. 
Amongst new approaches, as reflected, in all the UK SPDs (except Thanet and 
Gibraltar) "geographical targeting" concentrates resources on the worst-off and 
socially marginalised communities within eligible areas. The prime aim is to 
prepare for work and find jobs for those who have been unemployed" for a long 
period. 
33 
4. Environmental Protection 
A sum of MECU 397 (comprising around 6% of total Objective 2 expenditure) is 
linked specifically to the protection of the environment (clearly, other expenditure 
such as that related to the regeneration of industrial and urban sites above will also 
have an environmental impact). 
Of the French Objective 2 regions, most expenditure on environmental protection 
has been earmarked for Picardy (17% of the region's allocation) where measures 
include development of the natural heritage to support diversification of the tourist 
sector, the development of clean technologies in business and a pilot action to 
promote the development of industrial processes for waste treatment, recovery and 
recycling. This programme also supports a strategy for the development of 
economic expertise in the environmental field through training, an action expected 
to create 500 jobs and the development of an industrial centre of expertise in the 
waste management sector. 
In Western Scotland (U.K.) MECU 47 (34% of total U.K. Objective 2 resources 
in the specific environmental category) is being devoted to the Improvement of the 
Regional Environment and Image under the Business Infrastructure Priority. 
ERDF will support projects including those, for example, which increase the rate 
at which land is recycled, focus on relieving stress to historic sites and buildings or 
a limited number of pilot projects to recreate natural habitats at urban fringes. The 
overall aim of the measure is to reduce the current total of derelict land by 25% 
over three years from 6,000 hectares to 4,500 hectares. 
34 
E. The application of the newly amended legal provisions 
1. Partnership - a rich regional partnership, but often limited to political and 
administrative authorities 
Ever since 1989, the Commission has pursued the objective of negotiating 
Objective 2 programmes with the regional partnerships concerned. This is seen by 
the Commission as an essential element in European regional policy : programmes 
should reflect local needs and conditions and encourage cooperation networks of 
all the socio-economic actors concerned. 
This more pronounced and positive input at regional level has permitted 
programmes to be individually discussed, negotiated and agreed with the 
partnerships in the eligible regions. 
However, such discussions have also tended to be primarily limited to the public 
and administrative authorities involved and national governments are frequently 
tempted to use subsidiarity arguments to strengthen their position in relation to 
their regions. There has thus been a constant battle to associate all local actors, 
often the only means of achieving the consensus necessary for a true relaunch of 
the local economy. 
The Monitoring Committees 
The existence of Regional Monitoring Committees is now a consolidated practice 
ensuring progressive participation by regional and local actors,some Member 
States having accepted the benefits of such arrangements for the first time. 
However, further improvements are needed;in particular, most of the large 
Member States resisted the efforts of the Commission to include the social 
partners in regional partnerships. The results in this regard ..ave therefore been 
very variable with particularly good representation in Belgium, The Netherlands 
and Denmark, but with less involvement of social partners elsewhere. The 
Commission will pursue its efforts to strengthen the role of the social partners in 
the course of the implementation of the programmes. 
2. Programming - a degree of simplification achieved 
In almost all cases the opportunity was taken to use the Single Programming 
Document (SPD) approach intended to simplify and speed up the programming 
procedures and which is primarily applicable to those regions such as those 
covered by Objective 2 which are of relatively limited scale in terms of coverage 
or amount of funding involved. In the case of Spain (where the Operational 
Programmes will be approved shortly after the Community Support Framework), 
the decision to remain with the CSF approach took into account, in particular, the 
desire of the regions to be closely involved in the regional program .nes. 
35 
In practice, difficulties in obtaining the level of detailed information, especially at 
measure level, to enable the Commission to commit resources in a Single Decision, 
apart from the number of programming documents involved, to some extent offset 
the potential gains from simplification. Certainly, with an average time of 7.5 
months from receipt of plans to adoption of the programming documents the six 
months' guideline under the regulations for the Commission to give its approval 
was not met. Nonetheless, time savings will accrue through not having to 
seperately approve programmes and the provisions relating to retroactivity of 
expenditure mean that limited effects will be felt on the ground. 
3. Prior Appraisal, Monitoring and Evaluation and Quantification of Objectives -
clear progress achieved 
All programmes were evaluated by independent assessors after their submission to 
the Commission on the basis of groups of regions with similar economic 
characteristics The plans as originally submitted were generally deficient in terms 
of the setting and quantification of Objectives, a problem exacerbated by the 
geographical dispersion of areas and non-standard statistical data. However, as 
illustrated in some of the examples provided, quantified indicators to facilitate 
monitoring were subsequently agreed with the regional partnerships and included 
in the programmes. 
An in-depth evaluation will be undertaken throughout the lifetime of the 
programmes whilst a lot of the groundwork undertaken for the establishment of 
the current SPDs will also clearly be transferable to the second programming 
period. A detailed evaluation of the current programmes will be important in 
forming a global view of its current Objective 2 areas and programmes. In 
particular, this will provide an analytical review of the strategies contained in the 
SPDs, grouping the Objective 2 areas according to their approaches or priorities 
and highlighting examples of best practice and of innovative approaches. 
This study will contribute to improving the functioning of current interventions 
and provide a strong basis for intermediate evaluation. It will also be important for 
the revision of the Objective 2 list at the end of 1995 or early 1996 prior to the 
preparation in the Autumn of that year of the programmes for the second 
programming period 1997-99. 
4. Integration of operations under the Funds and co-ordination with the other 
financial instruments - good between Funds but limited recourse to the EIB 
Integration between the Funds 
Good overall integration between sectoral priorities is evident within the Objective 
2 programming documents and,as previously indicated, fairly generalised as 
between the ERDF and ESF. For example, efforts have been made to ensure that 
all priorities in the UK SPDs are supported by a coherent mix of measures, some 
of which are suported by the ERDF and some by the ESF. 
36 
One exception has been the Objective 2 CSF for Spain where a limited amount of 
human resources actions the correspond to measures being implemented by the 
central authorities (16% of total ESF resources under Objective 2) are to be 
pursued through a separate Single Fund (ESF) operational programme. 
The role of the EIB 
Although the EIB has been more closely associated with the exercise of preparing 
the Objective 2 programming documents than in the previous period, in particular 
appreciation of the Plans, the results in terms of the commitment of EBB loans to 
the financing of programmes have been disappointing. In certain cases, for 
example, the region of Liguria (I), a specific measure (under Priority 2 for SMEs) 
has been agreed to stimulate the use of Community Loans (EIB and ECSC). 
5. Other Community policies and Commitments - specific provisions made 
Apart from improvements in ensuring respect for environmental policy, of which 
are number of examples have been quoted in the preceding pages, the new SPDs 
make specific provisions for respect of Competition and the Directives relating to 
the opening up of public contracts. With regard to the application of the principle 
of equal opportunities for men and women, this is explicitly mentioned for the first 
time in the Structural Funds regulations with the ESF primarily promoting the 
application of this principle. In West-Berlin (D) a special programme has been 
devised, for example, to increase the number of women in leading position in 
promising economic sectors such as high technology. 
It is appropriate to recall also that on 11 July 1994 the Commission agreed a 
regulation relating to irregularities and the recovery of sums wrongly paid in the 
context of financing structural policies as well as the organisation of an 
information system in this area. This regulation will make it possible to combat 
irregularities and fraud, and to undertake preventive measures and the necessary 
prosecutions. 
6. Additionality - a complex exercise 
Verifying additionality (on the basis of all Objective 2 regions of a Member State 
taken together) has been very difficult, especially given the number and dispersed 
nature of the regions concerned, together with the different administrative 
arrangements of each and the reluctance and real difficulties of some Member 
States to provide the required financial information. In some cases it was necessary 
to introduce a suspensive clause on Community payments into the Decision where 
the Commission had been unable to complete the first ex-ante evaluation of the 
additionality principle before approval of the SPD. Nonetheless, the Netherlands 
provides a model illustration for the demonstration of additionality despite the 
fragmented nature of the Objective 2 regions concerned. 
At regional level it would often appear that certain regions give priority to 
operational programmes co-financed by the Union in order to ensure absorption of 
the credits available; a particular urgency is therefore being applied to the 
implementation of Objective 2 programmes. 
37 
Financial circuits 
As far as financial circuits are concerned, the Commission has insisted on the 
required assurances that Community financing reaches the regions concerned; 
there has been a significant improvement in this respect and most SPDs describe in 
detail the route taken by Community financing from the Commission to the final 
beneficiary. 
38 
F Innovations 
The "innovations" introduced for the new programming period likewise reflect the 
increased orientation of Objective 2 towards diversification and new activities, 
especially technologically based ones, as well as SME support as key means of 
creating new jobs. The types of actions concerned (and which, although examples are 
given, are not generally confined to particular Member States) include : -
- help for SMEs to adopt new technology (Limburg, B); 
- advanced telematics (Yorkshire and Humberside, UK); 
- increased venture and risk capital provision (Bremen, D); 
- training in quality assurance and business certification (Emilia Romagna, 
Piémont, I). 
As indicated earlier, other new approaches have involved "geographical targeting" to 
concentrate resources on the worst-off and socially marginalised communities within 
eligible areas. Additional emphasis has also generally been given to the employment 
potential of cultural, media and tourism industries; other areas with particular scope 
for an innovatory approach have included training, R&D, the environmental field and 
local development. 
39 
IV. FINAL COMMENTS 
Objective 1 : an encouraging effort of development, but it must be lasting 
As already mentioned, the revised Structural Funds regulation aims to ensure that 
European credits contribute as effectively as possible to closing the economic gap for 
the regions lagging behind. The results obtained over the last few years in some of the 
Objective 1 regions are encouraging. But these results also demonstrate that the 
common effort to be carried out is long term; it must be lasting. It should be 
remembered that in the 4 "cohesion" countries per capita Gross Domestic Product 
progressed from index 64 to index 70 (Europe of the 12=100) between 1986 and 
1993. As a reminder, the threshold of eligibility for Objective 1 is currently set at 75% 
of the European average. The direction is good, but there is still much to be done 
The programmes thus adopted will undoubtedly make a positive contribution. 
Objective 2 : positive sign on employment 
Concerning the situation on the labour market, the Objective 2 regions presnet a more 
favourable development than in the other regions with unemployment falling by nearly 
3 percentage points between 1986 and 1993 while in the rest of the Community it 
remained virtually unchanged. This appears to reflect high rates of job creation in 
Objective 2 areas, up by 13% between 1986 and 1993, nearly double the rate of 
increase in the Community as a whole. 
The selectivity of Community assistance in favour of operations creating employment 
has certainly contributed to this result. 
A constant concern : assuring the "quality" of structural finance 
In implementing structural policies, the Commission must carry out intermediate 
evaluations, take account of the environment (sustainable development), make regular 
checks on the application of Community policies and respect for the principle of 
additionality. 
This monitoring and evaluation will form the basis for producing the first report on 
the state of cohesion which the Commission must draw up at the latest by the end of 
1996. This will relate to the whole of Community policy and will involve a task of 
reflection and study which the next Commission must set in motion from the very 
beginning of 1995. 
40 
ANNEX I : SUMMARY TABLES 
ANNEXE II : TABLEAUX DE SYNTHÈSE 
ANLAGE Hl : ZUSAMMENFASSENDE TABELLEN 
ANNEX H : OBJECTIVE 1 : THE RESULTS BY PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 
ANNEXE U : OBJECTIF 1 : RÉSULTATS PAR DOCUMENTS DE PROGRAMMATION 
ANLAGE HI :ZIEL1 :RESULTATEFURJEDESPR0GRAMMD2RUNGSD0KUMENT 
ANNEX III : OBJECTIVE 2 : THE RESULTS BY MEMBER STATES 
ANNEXE III : OBJECTIF 2 : RÉSULTATS PAR ETATS MEMBRES 
ANLAGE HI : ZffiL 2 : RESULTATE PRO MlTGUEDSTAAT 
EN 
The following fiches summarise the above aspects as they apply for each Member State's 
programming documents together with background context covering : 
- the total Community assistance and respective contribution by Fund; 
- an outline of the overall development strategy, key strategic aims and development 
priorities and the weighting given to each. 
The summaries reflect the contents of the programming documents as published and it 
should in particular be borne in mind that forecasts for job creation as examplified in the 
annexes have been provided by the Member States themselves. They have not therefore been 
devised on the basis of harmonized employment effects data. The Commission will strive to 
improve, in partnership, the homogeneity and comparability of these forecasts. 
FR 
DE Les fiches qui suivent résument l'application des aspects décrits ci-dessus aux documents de 
programmation des différents Etats membres ainsi que le contexte qui les sous-tend at qui 
couvre : 
- l'aide communautaire globale et la part qu'y tient le Fonds; 
- un aperçu de la stratégie générale de développement, des objectifs stratégiques et des 
priorités de développement essentiels et de l'importance attribuée à chacun d'eux. 
Les résumés sont le reflet du contenu du document de programme publié et il convient de 
rappeler que les prévisions de création d'emploi telles qu'illustrées dans les anexes ont été 
fournies par les Etats membres eux-mêmes. Elles n'ont donc pas été estiméesées sur base de 
méthodes harmonisées. La Commission s'efforcera, dans le cadre du partenariat, d'améliorer 
le caractère homogène et comparable de ces prévisions. 
In den nachfolgenden Einzeldokumentationen sind diese Aspekte une ihre Anwendung auf 
die Programmplanungsdokumente der Mitgliedstaaten zusammenfassend dargestellt. 
Aufierdem enthalten die folgenden Seiten einige in diesem Kontext intéressante 
Hintergrundsinformationen : 
- Angaben uber den Gesamtumfang der Gemeinschaftshilfe und die Beiträge der einzelnen 
Fonds; 
- Eine KurzdaFstellung der Entwicklungsstrategie, der wesentlichen strategischen Ziele une 
Entwicklungsschwerpunkte une die den einzelnen Elementen beigemessene Gewichtung. 
Diese Zusammenfassungen reflektieren den Inhalt der veröffentlichen Programm­
planungsdokumente. Es muB klar sein, daÛ die Abschätzung der geschaffenen Arbeitsplätze, 
wie Anhang angefuhrt von den Mitgliedstaaten selbst erfolgte. Sie wurden daher nicht auf 
der Basis abgestimmter Daten von Beschäftigungseffekten erstellt. Die Kommission ist 
bestrebt, die Homogenität une Vergleichbarkeit dieser Abschätzungen in Partnerschaft zu 
verbessen. 

ANNEX I 
ANNEXE I 
ANLAGEI 
SUMMARY TABLES 
TABLEAUX DE SYNTHÈSE 
ZUSAMMENFASSENDE TABELLEN 

ANNEX 1/1 
ANNEXE 1/1 
ANLAGE 1/1 
Breakdown by Funds and by regions of the Objective 1 CSFs and SPDs 1994-1999 
Répartition par Fonds et par régions des Docup et CGA objectif 1 1994-1999 
Aufgliederung nach Fonds und Zîel-1-Regionen der GFK und EPD 1994-1999 
MioECU 1994 
Grèce 
Espagne 
Andalucia 
Asturias 
Canarias 
Cantabria 
CastHla-La-Mancha 
Castilla-y-Leon 
Ceuta 
Valenciana 
Extremadura 
Galicia 
Melilla 
Murcia 
Plurirégional 
Irlande 
Portugal 
EUR 4 
Belgique 
Hainaut 
Allemagne 
Mecklenburg- Vorpommern 
Brandeburg 
Sachsen 
Sachsen-Anhalt 
Thùringen 
Oost Berlin 
Plurirégional 
France 
Corse 
Guadeloupe 
Guyane 
Martinique 
Réunion 
Hainaut fr. ERDF 
FEDE_R 
EFRE 
9489,5 
15944,2 
1692.0 
234,0 
390,0 
105,0 
416,0 
600,0 
20,0 
607,0 
382,0 
727,0 
18,0 
197.0 
10556.2 
2562,0 
8723,9 
36719,6 
515,9 
515,9 
6820,0 
824,0 
1075,0 
2014,0 
1264,0 
1127,0 
516,0 
0,0 
1194,9 
147,5 
160,0 
92,3 
166,5 
320,5 
308,1 ESF 
FSE 
ESF 
2560,5 
6047,0 
325.5 
30,8 
182.9 
9,0 
35.1 
128,4 
0,0 
309,9 
165.6 
179.0 
0.0 
44,6 
4636.3 
1953,0 
3148,7 
13709,2 
166,7 
166,7 
4092,0 
383,4 
496,3 
874,9 
550,0 
489,7 
221,1 
1076,6 
525,5 
31,0 
104.3 
35,8 
89,0 
183,0 
82.4 EAGGF 
FEOGA 
EAGFL 
1800,0 
3313,8 
403.7 
92.8 
86.7 
62.0 
314,7 
436,0 
0,0 
123,1 
183,7 
318,9 
0,0 
58,5 
1233,8 
1058,0 
1894,2 
8066,0 
47,0 
47,0 
2644,5 
622.0 
597,5 
477,6 
553,5 
386,3 
7,6 
0.0 
431,4 
64,0 
74,5 
27,4 
67,0 
149,0 
49,5 FIFG 
IFOP 
FIAF 
130,0 
995,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
995,0 
47,0 
213,2 
1385,2 
0,4 
0,4 
83,5 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
83,5 
38,2 
7,5 
6.2 
9.5 
7,5 
7,5 
0,0 TOTAL 
13980,0 
26300,0 
2421.2 
357.5 
659.7 
175,9 
765,8 
1164,4 
20,0 
1040,0 
731,3 
1224,9 
18,0 
300.0 
17421,3 
5620,0 
13980,0 
59880,0 
730,0 
730,0 
13640,0 
1829.4 
2168.8 
3366,5 
2367,5 
2003,0 
744,7 
1160,1 
- 2190,0 
250,0 
345,0 
165,0 
330,0 
660,0 
440,0 
Breakdown by Funds and by regions of the Objective 1 CSFs and SPDs 1994-1999 
Répartition par Fonds et par régions des Docup et CCA objectif 1 1994-1999 
Aufgliederung nach Fonds und Ziel-1-Regionen der GFK und EPD 1994-1999 
(next - suite - folge) Mio ECU 1994 
Italie 
Abruzzo 
Basilicata 
Calabria 
Campania 
Molise 
Puglia 
Sardegna 
Sicilia 
Plurirégional 
Pays-Bas 
Revoland 
Royaume Uni 
Highlands and Islands 
Merseyside 
Irlande du Nord 
TOTAL 
Ventilation par Fonds ERDF 
FEDER 
EFRE 
9660,0 
107.0 
243.0 
456,0 
890,0 
124,0 
612,0 
415,0 
778,0 
6035,0 
80,0 
80,0 
1332,0 
180,0 
475,0 
677,0 
56322,5 
60,0% ESF 
FSE 
ESF 
2739,0 
43,5 
141.2 
174.3 
328.4 
48.0 
285,0 
219,5 
427.4 
1071,7 
40,0 
40,0 
747,2 
55,2 
338,0 
354,0 
22019,6 
23,5% EAGGF 
FEOGA 
ÉAGFL 
2228,0 
83,9 
214,8 
241.0 
323.5 
120.0 
326.4 
332.6 
351.8 
234,0 
21,5 
21,5 
245,9 
56,0 
3.0 
186.9 
13684,3 
14,6% FIFG 
IFOP 
FIAF 
233,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
233,0 
8,5 
8,5 
34,9 
19,8 
0.0 
15.1 
1783,7 
1,9% TOTAL 
14860,0 
234,4 
599.0 
871.3 
1541,9 
292,0 
1223,4 
967,1 
1557.2 
7573.7 
150,0 
150,0 
2360,0 
311,0 
816,0 
1233,0 
93810,0 
100,0% 
ANNEX 1/2 
ANNEXE 1/2 
ANLAGE 1/2 
Contribution of the Structural Funds to Objective 1 development expenditure for the period 1994-1999 
Contribution des Fonds structurels aux dépenses de développement objectif 1 pour la période 1994-1999 
Beitrag der Struckturfonds zu den Entwicklungsauswendungen nach Ziel 1 fur die Période 1994-1999 
MioECU 1994 
Infrastructures 
Transport 
Télécommunications 
Energie 
Environnement & Eau 
Santé 
Ressources humaines 
Education 
Formation 
Recherche & Développement 
Environnement productif 
Industrie et services 
Agric. & Développement rural 
Pêche 
Tourisme 
Autres 
TOTAL Belgique 
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 
3882 
1008 
2040 
144 
690 
246 
13980 Espagne 
10628 
6100 
418 
624 
3034 
452 
7462 
623 
5974 
865 
8023 
3019 
3422 
1033 
550 
187 
26300 France 
610 
262 
1 
8 
323 
15 
595 
86 
465 
43 
748 
215 
387 
47 
99 
238 
2190 Irlande 
1109 
888 
37 
70 
74 
39 
2470 
1007 
1094 
368 
1831 
559 
853 
64 
355 
211 
5620 Italie 
4420 
1742 
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 
4992 
2226 
1908 
240 
618 
732 
13980 Royaume 
Uni 
671 
314 
20 
190 
146 
895 
791 
104 
713 
331 
242 
37 
103 
82 
2360 EUR 12 
29272 
15244 
1435 
2495 
8328 
1770 
26713 
5048 
17890 
3775 
35721 
16088 
14405 
1915 
3313 
2104 
93810 % 
31,2% 
16,3% 
1,5% 
2,7% 
8,9% 
1,9% 
28,5% 
5,4% 
19,1% 
4,0% 
38,1% 
17,1% 
15,4% 
2,0% 
3,5% 
2,2% 
100,0% 
ANNEX 1/3 
ANNEXE 1/3 
ANLAGE 1/3 
Breakdown by Funds and by regions of the Objective 2 CSFs and SPDs 1994-1996 
Répartition par Fonds et par régions des Docup et CCA objectif 2 1994-1996 
Aufgliederung nach Fonds und Ziel-2-Regionen der GFK und EPD 1994-1996 
MioECU 1994 
Belgique 
Aubange 
Limburg 
Meuse-Vesdre 
Turnhout 
Allemagne 
Bayern 
Bremen 
Hessen 
Niedersachsen 
Nordrhein- Wes t fa/en 
Rheinland-Pfalz 
Saarland 
ScNes wig-Hols tein 
West-Berlin 
Danemark 
Lolland 
Nordjylland 
Espagne 
Aragon 
Baléares 
Cataluna 
La Rioja 
Madrid 
Navarra 
Pals Vasco 
Plurirégional 
France 
Alsace 
Aquitaine 
Auvergne 
Basse-Normandie 
Bretagne 
Bourgogne 
Centre 
Champagne-A r denne s 
Franche-Com té 
Haute-Normandie 
Languedoc-Roussillon 
Lorraine 
Midi-Pyrénées 
Nord-Pas-de-Calais 
Pays de la Loire 
Picardie 
Poitou- Charen tes 
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 
Rhône-Alpes ERDF 
FEDER 
EFRE 
130,0 
0,9 
35.1 
75,3 
18.7 
513.7 
9.5 
30,5 
18.3 
29.8 
263,8 
15.2 
34,4 
10,0 
102,1 
44,2 
7,0 
37,2 
870,1 
49,4 
8.8 
402.2 
10.5 
113.7 
17.7 
267.8 
0.0 
1452,6 
16.1 
91.S 
50.6 
46.6 
77.6 
42,0 
20,6 
62.1 
41.2 
112,1 
59.9 
102,9 
34.6 
265.5 
109,6 
98.8 
43,6 
95.7 
81,8 ESF 
FSE 
ESF 
30,0 
0,4 
11.7 
13.2 
4.7 
219,3 
5,1 
16.4 
3.0 
12.7 
97.6 
8,2 
14,7 
5,4 
56.2 
11,8 
2.5 
9.3 
259,9 
14.8 
1.6 
107.9 
1.4 
31.3 
5.1 
58,1 
39.8 
310,7 
3.5 
15.6 
10.5 
11.3 
12.1 
7.4 
3.7 
15.4 
6.6 
33.9 
10.6 
24.5 
8.0 
52.6 
26.3 
23.6 
9.7 
17.4 
17.9 TOTAL 
160.0 
1.3 
46.8 
88.6 
23.4 
733.0 
14.7 
46,9 
21,3 
42,5 
361,4 
23,5 
49.1 
15,4 
158.3 
56,0 
9.6 
46.5 
1130,0 
64,2 
10,4 
510.1 
11.9 
145.0 
22.8 
326,9 
39,8 
1763.2 
19,6 
107.1 
61.1 
57,8 
89,7 
49,4 
24.2 
77,5 
47,8 
146,0 
70,6 
127,4 
42.6 
318.1 
136.9 
122.4 
53.3 
113,1 
99.7 
Breakdown by Funds and by regions of the Objective 2 CSFs and SPDs 1994-1996 
Répartition par Fonds et par régions des Docup et CCA objectif 2 1994-1996 
Aufgliederung nach Fonds und Ziel-2-Regionen der GFK und EPD 1994-1996 
(next - suite -folge) Mio ECU 1994 
Italie 
Emilia-Romagna 
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 
Lazio 
Liguria 
Lombardia 
Marche 
Piemonte 
Toscana 
Umbria 
Valle d'Aosta 
V ene to 
Luxembourg 
Pays-Bas 
Arnh em-Nijmegen 
Groningen-Zuidoost Drenthe 
T wen te 
Zuid Limburg 
Zuidoost-Brabant 
Royaume-Uni 
Eastern Scotland 
East Midlands 
Gibraltar 
Greater London {East London and the Lee Valley) 
Industrial South Wales 
North East England 
North West England (Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire) 
Plymouth 
Thanet 
West Cumbria and Furness 
West Midlands 
Western Scotland 
Yorkshire and Humberside 
TOTAL 
Ventilation par Fonds ERDF 
FEDER 
EFRE 
542,3 
9,6 
18,4 
52.2 
67.5 
18,8 
17,9 
164,0 
103,0 
27,5 
5,8 
57,6 
6,0 
206,0 
39,4 
48,6 
39,4 
31,7 
47,0 
1606,9 
96,8 
59,3 
4,1 
55,5 
141,0 
231.0 
230.3 
23.3 
11,9 
18,8 
278,0 
222,9 
234.0 
5371,8 
77,0% ESF 
FSE 
ESF 
141,7 
2,4 
5,6 
11,8 
28,5 
4,2 
3.1 
41,0 
24,0 
7,5 
0,2 
13,4 
1,0 
94,0 
16,6 
27.5 
18,6 
11.3 
20,0 
535,1 
24.2 
19,8 
0,9 
18,5 
47,0 
77,0 
98.7 
5,7 
2.1 
6,2 
93.0 
63,1 
79,0 
. 1603,4 
23,0% TOTAL 
684,0 
12.0 
24.0 
64.0 
96.0 
23.0 
21.0 
205.0 
127.0 
35.0 
6.0 
71,0 
7,0 
300,0 
56,0 
76,0 
58,0 
43,0 
67,0 
2142,0 
121,0 
79,0 
5.0 
74,0 
188,0 
308,0 
329,0 
29,0 
14,0 
25,0 
371,0 
286,0 
313.0 
6975,2 
100,0% 
ANNEX 1 /4 
ANNEXE 1/4 
ANLAGE 1 /4 
Contribution of the Structural Funds to Objective 2 development expenditure for the period 1994-1996 
Contribution des Fonds structurels aux dépenses de développement objectif 2 pour la période 1994-1996 
Beitrag der Struckturfonds am den Entwicklungsausgaben in Ziel 2 fur die Période 1994-1996 
Mio ECU 1994 
Environnement productif 
Industries et services 
- Tous types d'industries et services 
-PME 
Tourisme 
Infrastructures de soutien 
Ressources humaines 
Formation, emploi 
Centres de formation, équipements 
Recherche & Développement 
Aménagement et réhabilitation 
Sites industriels 
Zones urbaines 
Protection de l'environnement 
Assistance technique 
TOTAL Belgique 
76 
29 
17 
12 
10 
37 
53 
27 
9 
17 
19 
16 
3 
8 
4 
160 Danemark 
23 
9 
8 
1 
5 
9 
32 
12 
0 
20 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
56 Allemagne 
245 
186 
24 
162 
11 
48 
293 
213 
0 
79 
132 
119 
13 
52 
11 
733 Espagne 
592 
290 
0 
290 
0 
302 
317 
258 
0 
59 
174 
0 
174 
40 
8 
1130 France 
710 
404 
254 
150 
148 
158 
614 
305 
67 
242 
313 
154 
159 
103 
25 
1765 Italie 
335 
240 
49 
191 
58 
36 
204 
137 
5 
63 
86 
77 
9 
48 
11 
684 Luxem­
bourg 
1 
/ 
7 
0 
0 
0 
2 
1 
0 
1 
2 
2 
0 
2 
0 
7 Pays-Bas 
131 
66 
36 
30 
34 
31 
113 
90 
0 
23 
41 
41 
0 
5 
9 
300 Royaume-
Uni 
1038 
579 
248 
330 
207 
252 
755 
528 
39 
188 
189 
189 
0 
138 
22 
2142 TOTAL 
3151 
1804 
638 
1166 
473 
874 
2383 
1571 
120 
691 
956 
599 
357 
397 
91 
6977 % 
45,2% 
25,9% 
9,1% 
16,7% 
6,8% 
12,5% 
34,1% 
22,5% 
1,7% 
9,9% 
13,7% 
8,6% 
5,1 % 
5,7% 
1,3% 
100,0% 
ANNEX II 
ANNEXE II 
ANLAGE II 
OBJECTIVE 1 - OBJECTIF 1 - ZIEL 1 
THE RESULTS BY PROGRAMMING DOCUMENTS 
RÉSULTATS PAR DOCUMENTS DE PROGRAMMATION 
RESULTATE FUR JEDES 
PROGRAMMIERUNGSDOKUMENT 

BELGIUM 
HAINAUT 
Background 
On 14 June 1994, the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) for 
Hainaut. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the SPD is 730 million 
ECU: 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 515.92 (Million ECU) (70.7%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 166.70 (22.0%) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) - Guidance Section 47.01 ( 6.4%) 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 0.37 ( 0.1%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The overall aim of the Walloon authorities is to achieve a target of 79% of average 
Community GDP in 1999 compared to the current figure of 77%. The underlying 
economic development strategy would be underpinned by : 
- a concentration on investments linked to diversification from traditional activities; 
- strengthening of research and development activities; 
- the development of human resources; 
- the improvement or adjustment of the industrial environment. 
The SPD defines the following development priorities : 
relaunching of economic activity (65,8%) 
promoting the attractiveness of the area and rural development (12,4%) 
completing the infrastructural network ( 4,2%) 
creating equal opportunities for all (17,1%) 
(technical assistance) ( 0,5%) 
Regulations 
Amongst the key aspects of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of the SPD were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1989-1993) which provided a 
number of lessons for the new programming period. For example, the outcomes of 
expenditure on training (93.5 MECU, 1990-93 in the French-speaking area) 
especially in terms of trainees subsequently finding employment, measures (through 
the RESIDER initiative) for the development of businesses, especially SME's which 
had created 535 net jobs and safeguarded 985 jobs and measures for the promotion 
of technological innovation; 
- quantification of objectives for each of the priorities and measures of the SPD, 
amongst the key targets of which included annual growth of 0.5% more than the 
Community average, the creation of at least 5,000 jobs from industrial restructuring 
out of a total target of 9,000; a 4.8% growth in private investment; a 5% increase in 
jobs linked to tourism. 
- initial assessment of additionality demonstrated through the undertaking of the 
Belgian authorities to maintain the annual level of eligible public expenditure at 
926 million ECU or an increase of 12.7% in real terms over the period 1989-1993. 
Added Value 
Following further analysis and discussion of the proposals submitted in the Plan, the 
partnership agreed to restructure the original priorities in order to achieve better 
integration between the different Funds as well as making a number of other related 
changes, for example : 
- certain measures with similar objectives were regrouped in order to avoid overlaps 
and competing activities which could be harmful to the achievement of the overall 
strategic aim; 
- the links between several measures were strengthened in order to achieve synergy 
between human, physical and innovative elements; 
- several new measures were created, for example, relating to training for sectoral 
aspects of the programme such as the environment, tourism and 
telecommunications. A specific new measure for the construction of holiday 
accommodation was also agreed to accompany tourism development. 
NEW LÄNDER AND EASTERN BERLIN 
Background 
On 29 July 1994 the Commission adopted the Community Support Framework (CSF) 
1994-1999 for the New Lander and Eastern Berlin. The total assistance" from the 
Structural Funds through the CSF is 13.64 billion ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) - Guidance Section 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 6,820 (billion ECU) 
5,092 
2,644 
0.084 (50.00%) 
(30.00%) 
(19.38%) 
( 0.62%) 
During August and September 1994 the Commission approved the 17 operational 
Programmes through which the CSF will be implemented. 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The main aims of the agreed development srategy are : 
- to bring about the reconstruction of the economy of the New Lander and Eastern 
Berlin through rapid economic growth; 
- to create secure and sustainable jobs underpinned by the emergence of competitive 
firms with high labour productivity; 
- to ensure development will always be environmentally acceptable. 
In pursuit of the development strategy the CSF defines the following development 
priorities : 
support for productive investment and accompanying investment in 
production related infrastructure (17.8%) 
measures to support small and medium enterprises (17.1%) 
measures to promote research and technological development as 
well as innovation ( 4.5%) 
measures to protect and improve the environment ( 8.1%) 
measures to promote the development of human resources, vocational 
training and further training as well as employment (26.7%) 
measures to promote agriculture, the development of rural areas 
and fisheries (23.6%) 
(technical assistance) ( 2.2%) 
Regulations 
Examples of key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the CSF 
were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1991-1993) which indicate that the 
ERDF contributed to the creation of 122,000 jobs and the safeguarding of 102,000 
others whilst 300,000 people (more than half of them women) benefited from ESF 
support for labour market actions. It is estimated that the cumulative direct 
contribution to employment in rural areas under the EAGGF equated to 8,000 
man-years; 
- prior appraisal of the CSF which underlines a growth-oriented strategy as the 
basis for the creation of durable jobs and the increase of income. The strategy would 
be pursued through the national regional aid scheme of the "Common Task" as the 
main delivery mechanism of ERDF support but which needed to be complemented 
by measures to improve location factors especially those related to SMEs, R&D, 
tourism and environment; 
- expected socio-economic impact whose main target was to create or safeguard 
700,000 jobs with employment estimated to increase each year to 1998 by about 
0.5% per annum with a bigger increase of about 1.5% per annum expected in the 
manufacturing sector. The share of the productive sector in total employment, 
which fell sharply after Unification, is expected to rise to about 
37% of total employment by 1988. 
The share of employment in market-determined services, which was very 
under-represented in the former GDR, is estimated to increase from 12.4% in 1991 
to 17% in 1993 and to about 20.5% in 1998. Federal Government estimates forsee 
an increase in per capita GDP from 7,600 ECU in 1992 to 9,000 ECU in 1993 and 
to about 14,800 ECU in 1998 (in current prices). 
Added Value 
A number of examples demonstrated the added-value resulting from discussion and 
negotiation within the partnership, for example to reorient resources and priorities, in 
order to best meet the overall aims of the development strategy : 
- three separate development priorities were agreed in partnership to give a special 
focus for ERDF support on the needs of SMEs, R&D and Environment; 
- the joint financing of the Common Task will continue to be a major part of the 
1994-1999 programmes. However, as a result of the negotiation the Commission, 
the Federal Government and the Länder have agreed that from 1995/1996 the 
Federal Government and each Land may have the flexibility to use ERDF resources 
for programmes other than the Common Task where these contribute to the overall 
objectives of the CSF; 
the support from the Structural Funds will primarily be delivered through integrated 
programmes for each Land, which varies from the practice followed in 1991-1993. 
In addition there will be a multiregional programme for human resources cofinanced 
by the ESF and one multiregional fisheries programme financed by the FLFG. The 
level of resources agreed for human resources measures is, at 27% of the total, 
significantly higher than in the previous programming period; 
it was agreed that Germany should be granted a derogation from the normal 
provisions for the respect of the additionality principle (the only Member State to be 
so) in view of the exceptional level of eligible public expenditure undertaken in 
respect of the new Länder and Eastern Berlin from 1991-1993; 
whereas efforts at quantification were concentrated at the level of development 
disparities, somewhat disappointing results were achieved for this aspect with regard 
to the priorities and objectives. 
Innovations 
Innovative measures in the context of the CSF include : 
- support for the recruitment by SMEs of innovation advisers and for the registration and 
protection of patents in foreign countries or at the European patents office; 
- support to facilitate access to markets and to improve management tehniques; 
- introduction of services and environmental agencies for giving advice and information; 
- promotion of internal and inter-company material cycles eg. to process plastics, 
compounds, solvents and other toxic or hazardous products. Companies will be granted 
assistance for the design and establishment of suitable processing plants and sophiticated 
recycling processes. 
GREECE 
Background 
On 11 July the Commission adopted the Community Support Framework (CSF) 
1994-1999 for Greece. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the CSF 
is 13.98 billion ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 9,489.5 (billion ECU) (67.9%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 2,560.5 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) - Guidance Section 1,800 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 130 (18.3%) 
(12.9%) 
( 0.9%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The main aims of the agreed development strategy are : 
- to concentrate all possible efforts on achieving real convergence over the period 
to 2000 with regard to the other countries of the Union with a particular emphasis 
on promoting private investment (especially for large transport infrastructure); 
- to pursue a more ambitious industrial policy based on the international 
competitiveness of businesses; 
- to establish efficient mechanisms for the implementation of programmes; 
- to provide a greater emphasis on education and training; 
- to improve the concentration of financial resources on strategic projects. 
In pursuit of the aims of the development strategy the CSF defines the following 
development priorities : 
reduction in peripherally and the promotion of internal integration by 
the development of major infrastructure (natural gas, Athens metro, rail 
networks, North-South "Pathe" and East-West "Egnatia" corridor) (19.6%) 
improvement of quality of life (environment, health, urban transport) (10.4%) 
development and improved competitiveness of the economic fabric 
(foreign investment, new technology for industry, adjustement of 
agriculture especially in line with the reform of the CAP, tourism, 
culture) (19.2%) 
development of human resources and employment (18.3%) 
reduction in regional disparities and opening up of isolated regions (32.0%) 
(technical assistance) ( 0,5%) 
Regulations 
Amongst the key aspects of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the CSF 
were the : 
- results of the previous programming period which indicated that the CSF 
increased GDP by 2%, helped create 50,000 jobs, co-financed 70% of total 
public investment and contributed 20% to gross fixed capital formation in the 
Greek economy. The reinforcement and acceleration of the regional programmes 
also resulted in significant advances with basic infrastructures (road networks, 
water supply, sewage treatment) and work on several large infrastructures of 
national importance got underway including the Athens Metro, the natural gas 
project and the Athens-Salonika and Athens Corinth motorways. 
- expected socio-economic impact, where the CSF should contribute 0.9% a year 
to GDP in Greece as well as growth, albeit modest, in the first years. The 
number of additional jobs due to the CSF should be of the order of 100,000. 
- initial assement of additionality demonstrated by the commitment of the Greek 
authorities to maintain an annual level of eligible public expenditure of 
5,314 million ECU, or an increase of 4.6% in real terms over the period 
1989-1993. 
Added Value 
Cooperation between the Commission and the Greek authorities during the negotiation 
and development of the CSF took place in a spirit of partnership and led to a number 
of agreed reorientations of resources and priorities : 
- whereas the initial Regional Development Plan was deficient in terms of 
compliance with some of the new regulatory requirements (e.g. it lacked 
quantified objectives, environmental impact assessments, evaluation of the 
previous CSF) these deficiencies were subsequently rectified; 
- the basic investment oriented approach adopted in the CSF was inspired by a 
joint macro-economic analysis of the prospects for real convergence and an 
assessment of the serious cohesion gaps informed by various thematic and other 
evaluations and a quantification exercise. This established a dual approach for the 
CSF : mobilization of private capital to facilitate the completion of major 
infrastructures (especially trans-European networks) and the radical overhaul of 
industrial strategy to reverse the long term disinvestment trend in industry; 
- a basic reorientation of resources and priorities saw increased investment in major 
infrastructures and in the productive sectors (industry, tourism, research and 
technology). A more enlightened approach to the energy sector is also to be noted 
with a strong shift from power generation to energy conservation and the 
development of renewable resources; 
- an integrated approach has been pursued wherever possible, for example, in the 
field of local and rural development. 
- increased resources were agreed in the field of education and training including 
preventative actions under the new Objective 4 (where the relevant measures 
comprise around 28% of the total ESF allocation); 
7 
- a recognition that delivery mechanisms are at least as important as policy 
formulation is reflected in the promotion of an entirely new concept of a 
Management Organization Unit (MOU) to provide new administrative 
mechanisms. This is coupled with an agreement on reform of the public works 
system and setting up of specific agencies for the implementation of the major 
projects within the CSF; 
- it was also accepted that, although good fundations have been laid, the 
partnership would need to maintain vigilance to ensure that follow-up and 
implementation were also successful. 
Innovations 
Several of the foregoing aspects already constitute a new approach for the Gree CSF 
and exemplified for instance by : 
the undertaking of the Greek authorities to seek private scector partners to complete 
the two motorway corridors and to operate appropriate concessions on their full 
length; 
aspects reflecting the pursuit of the new industrial policy (encouragement of foreign 
investment/ aid to businesses with international potential such as "One stop shops" for 
potential investors; 
the creation of a system of certification of training establishements and trainers to 
enhance quality in tandem with additional resources for the education system 
especially secondary technical vocational education. 
SPAIN 
Background 
On 1 July 1994, the Commission adopted the Community Support Framework (CSF) 
1994-1999 for Spain. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the CSF is 
26.30 billion ECU: 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 15,944 (billion ECU)(60.6%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 6,047 (23.0%) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) - Guidance Section 3,314 (12.6%) 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 995 (3.8%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The agreed development strategy was underlined by the key objective of modernising and 
stimulating the Spanish economy to enable it to participate as actively as possible in the 
Single Market and achieve the best possible level of economic integration by the year 
2000. The key elements of the development strategy are as follows : 
- the improvement of the productive system (industry, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, 
research and development, technical assistance); 
- the development of human resources and the environment; 
- less emphasis on infrastructure to reduce peripherality in view of the improvements 
made in the previous period; 
- maintenance of expenditure on basic facilities (water and energy) at the same 
relative value (but doubled in absolute terms). 
In pursuit of the development strategy the CSF defines the following priorities : 
territorial integration and articulation 
(road, rail telecommunication, etc.) (24.8%) 
development of the economic fabric (16.0%) 
tourism ( 2.0%) 
agriculture and rural development ( 8.4%) 
fisheries ( 3.9%) 
infrastructure in support of economic activity (18.9%) 
development of human resources (25.0%) 
(technical assistance) ( 1.0%) 
Regulations 
Amongst the key aspects of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the CSF 
were the : 
- prior appraisal of the CSF which estimated that Community support would 
provide additional GDP growth of 0.4% per annum (0.7% with the national 
contribution ) with the Objective 1 Spanish regions achieving a level GDP 2.5% 
higher than would otherwise have been the case. The CSF could also be expected to 
create or safeguard 210,000 jobs a year on average. 
- establishment of quantified indicators (90) in order to ensure effective on-going 
and ex-post monitoring and evaluation. These were agreed in the difficult 
circumstances of having 13 different authorities (the State and 12 Autonomous 
communities) without global standard indicators. 
Added Value 
In partnership and negotiation a reorientation of resources and priorities was agreed in 
order to better meet the overall objective of the development strategy : 
- additional emphasis was placed on improving and apting the productive system in 
order to strengthen economic growth and job creation. The CSF devotes 34.5% of 
resources to this aspect compared to 24.3% proposed in the original Plan; 
- the CSF also emphasises the contribution of human resources measures and 
improvement in the quality of life, which in conjunction with improvements in the 
productive system are essential for tackling unemployment. The CSF devotes 
33.4% to such measures compared to 27.4% in the Plan; 
- given the efforts made in this regard in the previous period 1989-1993, measures to 
improve Spain's links to the Community were reduced to 24.8% of the CSF 
compared to 34% proposed in the Plan. Likewise, the CSF maintains at the same 
relative value (but with a doubling in absolute terms), the resources devoted to basic 
facilities in respect of water and energy (7.3% of the CSF compared to 14.2% in the 
Plan); 
- the use of global grants is much greater than in the previous period as is the level of 
technical assistance measures (125 Mecu) designed to help achieve the effective 
implementation of the CSF. Importance has been placed on clearly specifying the 
types of measures concerned whilst 8 Mecus may be used for technical assistance on 
the specific initiative of the Commission; 
- in full agreement with the Spanish authorities greater efforts have been made to 
identify the amount of CSF resources devoted to each region in the case of 
multiregional operations; 90% of the financing of the Spanish CSF has been 
regionalized in this way; 
10 
- less successful outcomes primarily related to the lack of an integrated multifund 
approach (justified by the Spanish authorities by reference to their single Fund 
institutional structures) and a lack of concrete contributions from the European 
Investment Bank (EIB) and cohesion Fund in the CSF. Also, in general terms, the 
CSF could be regarded as overlong (276 pages) and complex, it should be borne in 
mind that a substantial level of funding is involved and the institutional arrangements 
are complex. 
Innovations 
Innovative measures in the context of the Spanish CSF include : 
- the introduction of single Monitoring Committees covering all operations in a region; 
- the adjustement of co-financing rates according to the socio-economic situation of the 
region concerned. 
11 
FRANCE 
AVESNES, DOUAI, VALENCIENNES 
Background 
On 11 July 1994, the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) for 
Avesnes, Douai, Valenciennes (French Hainaut). The total assistance from the Structural 
Funds through the SPD is 440 million ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 308.14 (million ECU) (70.00%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 82.40 (18.73%) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) - Guidance Section 49.46 (11.24%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The main aim of the development strategy for the Objective 1 programme is to 
complement and significantly increase existing efforts within the region to reduce its 
disparities relative to the rest of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region and with respect to the 
Community average. Key objectives for 1994-1999 towards this aim are : 
- to achieve employment growth 0.5% higher than the national average (compared to 
0.7% a year lower over the previous five years and 1.5% lower over the previous ten 
years); 
- to stabilize the region's total population (corresponding to a reduction of 40% in out-
migration). 
The priorities agreed to address the strategic aim and objectives were as follows : 
support and relaunching of economic activity (32.22%) 
research, development and technology ( 8.76%) 
development of human resources (21.00%) 
regeneration of the region (37.53%) 
(technical assistance) ( 0,46%) 
12 
Regulations 
Amongst the key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of the SPD were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1989-1993) which, despite some 
advances, confirmed continuing difficulties especially as regards unemployment in the 
field of economic development as well as the need for increased of training provision. 
In the area of rural development they highlighted the need in the new Objective 1 
programme to strengthen support for young farmers as well as accompanying measures 
to promote diversification. Other lessons related, for example, to the regeneration of 
industrial sites and the need for further effort in urban areas; 
- expected impact of the programme which would represent about 2% of the region's 
GDP and 12% of gross fixed capital formation whilst an additional 22,000 jobs could 
be expected(13,000 net) taking into account previous employment trends; 
- quantification of objectives including a comprehensive table of key base date 
1982-1993 and targets for 1999. 
Added Value 
As a result of the further analysis undertaken during the negotiation of the SPD as well as 
the results of the previous programming period (for example, the need to increase the 
conmpetitiveness of SME's and to strengthen Research and Development and training) the 
partnership agreed to restructure the original priorities as well as making a number of 
other shifts of expenditure : 
- an original priority for improving the areas accessibility was replaced by a measure for 
transport within a priority for the regeneration of the area with an accompanying 
reduction in ERDF resources for this aspect; 
- a new measure was agreed to address problems in depressed urban areas; 
- increases in resources were agreed for SME investment, ESF measures, RTD, 
development of craft industry and launching of small projects; 
- the integration and coherence of measures (and between the Funds) has been 
strengthened, for example, ESF measures complement ERDF actions for industrial 
competitiveness, local and urban development. 
Innovations 
A number of new approaches in the context of the region feature in the new SPD, for 
example : 
- in the environmental field, measures for environmental technology, research and training; 
- under the newly extended cope, of the ERDF for investment in eiduction and health, 
preventive measures in respect of alcoholism and drug-taking and related health care 
facilities. 
13 
FRANCE 
CORSICA 
Background 
On 11 July the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) 
1994-1999 for Corsica. The total assitance from the Structural Funds through the SPD is 
250 million ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) - Guidance Section 64,000 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 7,500 147,375 (million ECU) 
31.000 (59.0%) 
(12.4%) 
(25.6%) 
( 3.0%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The main aims of the agreed development strategy (outlined in the Plan and followed in 
the CSF) are : 
- the upgrading of structural facilities; 
- the strengthening of productive activity; 
- the spatial planning of the Island; 
- an increase in social cohesion. 
In pursuit of these strategic objectives the SPD defines the following development 
priorities : 
reducing isolation and support infrastructure 
development of agricultural and marine products 
university, research and new sources of energy 
development of tourist and cultural heritage 
environment 
economic development 
development of human resources 
technical assistance 
14 
Regulations 
Examples of key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of the SPD were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1989-1993) which included an 
overall increase in those actively employed (from around 80,000 in 1989 to 
85,000 in 1993) although the number of those employed in agriculture fell from 
7,000 to 5860 during the same period. Other improvements related to 
infrastructure (including ports); tourism, sanitation improvements (serving 
150.000 people); agriculture, fisheries and training. 
- environmental profile of the region which stressed the virtually intact natural 
heritage of Corsica but also drew attention to a number of environmental threats 
(heavy tourist inflows, fires; waste disposal) which needed to be taken into 
consideration in the development of the SPD; 
- prior appraisal of proposals which informed the development of the SPD, for 
example, the need to avoid widely disposed industrial zones in an area with 
already difficult communications; the need to integrate tourism into the other 
economic activities of the island. 
- expected impact of the SPD including the estimated creation of 5,000 jobs, of 
which 1,000 within the tourism sector, GDP growth of 2.7% (2.1% between 
1982 and 1990) whilst public investment would represent 4% of GDP of which 
the annual amount per inhabitant would reach 94,000 FF in 1999 (compared to 
80,400 FF in 1990). 
Added value 
Discussions in the partnership during the development of the SPD led to a number of 
agreed changes of emphasis and reorientations of resources and priorities in pursuance of 
the overall strategy: 
- the importance of tackling internal isolation was recognised but it was decided to 
concentrate resources on major networks, notably Ajaccio-Bastia which would 
form part of the transeuropean network as well as creating around 250-400 jobs; 
- support to SMEs, the craft and service industries were strengthened compared to 
the proposals in the Plan (especially access to new technology to help diversify 
the activities of SMEs) with the investment expected to create or safeguard more 
than 5,000 jobs. 
- environmental aspects were reinforced with a number of quantified targets put in 
place, for example, the number of inhabitants served by the sewage system to rise 
from the current 57% to 80% in 1999 as well as measures to preserve, restore 
and develop the natural environment. 
- the emphasis of the approach to tourism was amended to better integrate the 
sector and protect natural and cultural sites. 
15 
Innovations 
Despite the fact that the general approach in the SPD was an improved continuation of 
previous programmes a number of new measures are also evident : 
a new approach to tourism aimed at opening up access to the interior of the island; 
a measure for health facilities aimed at address the lack of hospitals in the interior 
regions of the Island; 
a measure for renewable energy has been implemented linking research, environment 
and energy aspects. 
16 
FRANCE 
OVERSEAS DEPARTMENTS 
Background 
On 29 July 1994, the Commission adopted the Single Programming Documents (SPDs) 
for the French Overseas Departments of Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique and 
Réunion. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the SPDs is 1,500 
million ECU : 
Guadeloupe : 345 million ECU 
(ERDF : 46.3 %; ESF : 30.3 %; EAGGF : 21.6 %; FIFG : 1.8 %) 
Guyane : 65 million ECU 
(ERDF : 55.9 %; ESF : 21.7 %; EAGGF : 16.6 %; FIFG : 5.8 %) 
Martinique : 330 million ECU 
(ERDF : 50.4 %; ESF : 27,0 %; EAGGF : 20.3 %; FIFG : 2.3 %) 
Réunion : 660 million ECU 
(ERDF : 48.5 %; ESF : 27.7 %; EAGGF : 22.6 %; FIFG : 1.2 %) 
Total : 1,500 million ECU 
Development Strategies and Priorities 
The main aims of the development strategies covered similar themes in all four regions: 
- management, improvement and protection of the environment and ecologies 
(Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique); 
- social cohesion and balance (Guadeloupe, Guyane, Réunion); 
- reducing isolation (Martinique, Réunion); 
- development of productive activities, infrastructure and employment (Guyane, 
Martinique, Réunion); 
- development of human resources (Martinique); 
- achieving spatial harmony and optimal land use (Guadeloupe, Réunion). 
17 
In pursuit of the development strategies the SPDs define the following development 
priorities : 
Guadeloupe 
- pursuit of social harmony 
- pursuit of a balanced economy 
- pursuit of spatial harmony 
- pursuit ot ecological balance 
- technical assistance (20.8%) 
(43.2%) 
(22.7%) 
(11.4%) 
( 1.9%) 
Guyane 
- reducing isolation 
- industry crafts and services 
- tourism 
- agricultural resources and rural development 
- fisheries 
- support infrastructure 
- development of human resources 
- technical assistance (20,0%) 
(12,0%) 
( 0.4%) 
(16.6%) 
( 5.7%) 
(22.6%) 
(21.7%) 
( 0.1%) 
Martinique 
- tourism 
- industry 
- commerce and craft 
- spatial planning 
- reducing isolation 
- environment 
- development pf human resources 
- agriculture 
- fisheries and acquaculture 
- technical assistance 
Réunion 
- development of the productive sectors and competitiveness (12,0%) 
- reducing isolation ( 8.9%) 
- environment and support infrastructure (27,0%) 
- implementation of Objective 5(a) and development of agro-food network ( 3.7%) 
- diversification and development of agricultural products ( 8.4%) 
- support for agricultural and rural development (10.4%) 
- development of fisheries and acquaculture ( 1.1-%) 
- qualification and development of human potential (27.6%) 
- technical assistance and regional cooperation ( 0.9%) 
Regulations 
Whereas the Plans originally submitted contained a great deal of descriptive details; the 
emphasis of the partnership's subsequent discussions in terms of regulatory requirement 
was primarily directed towards the provision of : 
- evaluation of the Plans; 
- prior appraisal of the needs of the regions; 
- financial information; 
- the establishment of quantified objectives; 
- the initial assessment of additionality. 
All the SPDs now contain to varying extents, the elements required, including quantified 
objectives for key sectors (eg to increase average tourist stays in Guyane from 8-12 days 
to 15 days; 40 workshops to be constructed in Guadeloupe, etc..) as well as detailed 
environmental descriptions and environmental impact assessments. 
Added Value 
In the context of an initial request for assistance from the Structural Funds from the 
French Overseas Departments considerably in excess of the amounts available, discussion 
in the partnership was able to reach agreement on a number of ways to reorient priorities 
and resources: 
- whereas a number of infrastructure projects were agreed, as well as completing the 
major works agreed in the previous period (water and airport projects), their overall 
relevance within the overall programmes was reduced compared to 1989-1993; 
- a greater concentration of effort for the productive sector (proposals which averaged 
about 25% of the Funds were increased during the negotiations to around 30%) with 
an emphasis on the financial needs of small industry and 
- substantially increased provision for human resources measures was agreed especially 
training (from 5% to 20%» of the Funds); 
- given the importance of the development of SMEs for the regions, additional emphasis 
was given to financial engineering and increases agreed for loan guarantee allocations, 
financial support for shareholders and other forms of assistance. 
19 
Innovations 
The general thrust of the SPDs is towards a strengthened continuation of previous 
programmes although a number of new approaches are also evident : 
- the extension of the tasks of the ERDF to include health gave rise to a number of small 
but innovative actions in this field such as health clinics serving the outermost villages in 
Guyane and diagnosis centres linked to Paris. Guadeloupe has a measure devoted to 
health facilities; 
- proposals for collective transport systems to alleviate the congestion in Fort de France in 
Martinique (including water transportation) and Saint-Denis in Réunion; 
- a special action geared to the smaller islands of the Guadeloupe archipelago using a 
global grant facility; 
- new approaches to tourism aimed at opening up access to the interior of the island of 
Réunion; 
- new measures for the management and protection of the environment and energy 
management has been agreed for Guyane; 
- technical assistance has been organised on a multiregional basis within each of the SPDs. 
20 
IRELAND 
Background 
On 11 July 1994 the Commission adopted the Community Support Framework (CSF) 
1994-1999 for Ireland. 
The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the CSF is 5.62 billion ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2,562 (billion ECU) (45.6%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 1,953 (34.8%) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) 1,058 (18.8%) 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 47 ( 0.8%) 
Development Strategy and priorities 
The main aims of the agreed development strategy are : 
- ensuring the best long-term return for the economy by increasing output, economic 
potential and long term jobs; 
- re-integrating the long-term unemployed, and those at high risk of becoming so, into 
the economic mainstream. 
In pursuit of these strategic aims the CSF defines the following development priorities : 
the productive sector : strengthen the overall productive capacity 
of the economy and identify and support the development of key 
sectors with the best long-term growth potential (44.6%); 
economic infrastructure : improve competitiveness by investing in 
economic infrastructure (21 %); 
human resources : develop the skills and aptitudes of those in work 
and those seeking work by both addressing the needs of the productive 
sectors of the economy and by integrating those who are marginalised 
and disadvantaged (30.8%); 
local urban and rural development : harness the potential of local 
initiatives to contribute to economic development ( 4.5%). 
21 
Regulations 
Examples of the key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of CSF were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1989-93) which suggest that by the 
end of the period the CSF had achieved a positive effect on a number of key 
economic indications and will make a significant and lasting difference to living 
standards, including GDP (+ 2.5%), GNP (+ 3.5%), Debt/GNP ratio (- 11.7%), 
total employment (+ 30,000) and value added (+ 2.5%). The GDP per capita in 
1993 was 77.7% of the EU average compared with 64.1% in 1988; 
- prior appraisal of the CSF which estimated that the global development effort 
would generate about 90,000 net jobs over the period with the CSF component 
contributing 0.4% per annum to employment growth. In term of GDP, the CSF 
would account for almost 1% of average annual growth; 
- quantification of specific objectives for each priority agreed in partnership, with 
the indicators at the level of the CSF focusing on the final impact of expenditure 
rather than concentrating unduly on measuring physical inputs and outputs which 
will be uncorporated in the specific operational programmes; 
- equal opportunities between men and women in the labour market whereby such 
supporting actions will acount for 4% of ESF investment in the human resources 
operational programmes; 
- extended scope of the ERDF to finance investments in the field of education and 
health applied notably forto the new hospital at Tallaght, Dublin, where a 35% 
Community contribution reflects the expected related impact on employment and 
other economic benefits; 
- environmental input of the CSF with all major sectoral policies adhering to the 
principle of sustainable development with account also taken of the Irish 
government's CO2 abatment strategy under the CSFs priorities. 
Added Value 
A number of examples demonstrate the added value resulting from discussion and 
negotiation within the partnership, for example to reorient resources and priorities in 
order to address the aims of the development strategy : 
- it was agreed in partnership that the national public contribution should be kept at 
the level of the Plan, even though the latter was cut back in line with the Community 
allocation (which was 15% less than the Irish governement had originally assumed). 
Aid rates were also reduced to reflect priorities (eg. higher rates to main road 
corridors than to local roads) rather than on a prorata basis; 
- the partnership also agreed that some shifts in the share of EU assistance to be 
allocated to the four major priorities were warranted, eg. increases to reflect the 
Plan's focus on indigenous enterprise and reinforcing aid for Local, Urban and Rural 
Development; 
22 
- an integrated approach to the Funds was taken for all programmes where relevant as 
well as, for example, ensuring that "culture" formed part of the tourism programme 
rather than comprising a separate programme; 
- more emphasis was given to initial education and training, continued training, 
support services and sectoral programmes ie, investments in human capital aimed at 
boosting socio-economic development and employment creation (a shift of 117 
Mecu) rather than towards measures to tackle social exclusion and training for the 
unemployed; 
- an increase was agreed in negotiation for research and development with a better 
balance in favour of private/commercial activity as against government supply-led 
work. 
Innovations 
Whilst it is to be expected that the priorities and operations are to a large extent a 
continuation and extension of those identified in the previous CSF, innovative measures in 
the new CSF include : 
- full incorporation of measures for Business and Innovation Centres (BICs) and for 
Seed Capital which were both introduced on a pilot basis in 1993; 
- in-company research and development (also previously a pilot measure) 
(including renewable energy and clean technologies) 
- measures to promote energy efficiency and the development of Combined Heat 
and Power (CHP) (not previously featured in the CSF for Ireland); 
- innovatory actions in the human resources field to reduce early school-leaving, 
management development of SMEs, enhancing equal opportunities, in-company 
training, training in industry and effective reintegration of long-term unemployed. 
23 
ITALY 
Background 
On 29 July 1994 the Commission adopted the Community Support Framework (CSF) 
1994-1999 for Italy. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through (he CSF is 
14.86 billion ECU: 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 
European Agricultural Guidance 
Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 9,660 (billion ECU) 
2,739 
2,228 
233 (65.00%) 
(18.42%) 
(15.00%) 
( 1.60%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The CSF on the whole follows the strategic approach outlined in the Plan which, in the 
context of the cessation of special intervention in the Mezzogiomo defined the following 
key strategic aims : 
- development of productive activity and productivity : improved efficiency and 
productivity of industrial processes, distribution of innovative technology and 
promotion of RTD and SME's; 
- improvement of the economic climate and infrastructure; 
- a policy for employment and human resources aimed at maintaining and expanding 
employment including retraining; 
- an improved standard of living, particularly with regard to commmunity services. 
In pursuit of the development strategy the CSF defines the following development 
priorities : 
communications 
industry, crafts and services for business especially SMEs 
tourism 
development of agricultural resources and rural development, 
diversification 
fisheries 
infrastructure support for economic activities 
development of human resources 
(technical assistance) 
24 
Regulations 
Amongst the key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the CSF 
were the : 
- Results of the previous programming period (1989-1993) where the CSF accounted 
for 6.2% of all operations in the regions of the Mezzogiomo in the same period. 
Aggregate impact was estimated at an increase in added value of 1,670 Lit/Billion per 
annum with an additional employment flow of 40,000 permanently employed full-time 
workers, the contribution to the total employment figure for the Mezzogiomo being 
0.6%. The gap between per capita GDP in the Southern and Central Northern regions 
was reduced from 40 5% in 1989 to 39.8% in 1993, a modest but significant reduction 
given the widening trend of the 1980's. 
- quantification of objectives, together with or greater emphasis on ex ante and ex-post 
evaluation, as well as monitoring, in order to ensure effective implementaiton of the 
CSF 
- Initial assessment of additionality whereby the Italian authorities have indicated their 
intention to maintain the average annual level of their eligible public expenditure at 
17,329 million ECU (1994 prices) or 16% higher than estimated for the previous 
programming period. The Commission will need to verify on a regular basis that the 
Member States real level of structural expenditure is being maintained in accordance 
with this principle of additionality. 
Added Value 
A number of examples demonstrate the added-value resulting from discussion and 
negotiation within the partnership, for example to reorient resources and priorities. These 
example relate to both differences of approach compared to the previous programming 
period as well as with regard to the Plan originally submitted by the national authorities : 
- the Italian CSF has been particularly oriented to reflect the themes of the White Paper 
on Growth Competitiveness and Employment, comprising improvements to the 
productive system (industry, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, research and development), 
technology transfer in order to strengthen economic growth and create jobs; 
- Structural Funds resources for training and employment as well as those linked to 
productive activities have been increased from around 64% of the CSF 1989-1993 to 
almost 67% of the CSF 1994-1999 (the resources for RTD have in fact been doubled 
with respect to the previous period from 3.3% to 6.6% of the total CSF); 
accompanying environmental resources were also increased to 5% of the new CSF as a 
result of negotiation compared to 3,5% in the Plan; 
- the proportion of resources for basic infrastructure was reduced in terms of the Plan 
and the CSF 1989-1993 to take account of previous activity in this area although 
expenditure on transport infrastructure (mostly transeuropean rail networks) was 
increased; 
- increased use will be made of the already established global grant facility; 
- although the level of resources devoted to energy measures was reduced compared to 
the CSF 1989-1993, a particular priority has been given in the new CSF to renewable 
energies, especially in the regions, 
25 
- a variety of measures was agreed for helping the SME sector, especially the craft 
industry (293 MECUs); services to business (262 MECUs), local development and 
crisis zones (567 MECUs); 
- improved systems for implementation were agreed including measures for the training 
of public administrators together with an increase in resources for technical assistance, 
monitoring and evaluation (88 MECUs in the CSF compared to 52 MECUs in the 
Plan). The latter will be facilitated by the establishment in partnership of a number of 
quantified objectives for the new period; 
- better integration of the Structural Funds has been achieved; it is estimated that 40% of 
the CSF involves joint financing by several Funds together with a significant reduction 
in the number of programmes in line with the aim of simplification; 
- despite the goodwill of the European Investment Bank, no clear information was 
available concerning the scope for EIB loans within the CSF whilst the degree of detail 
at project level required by the Bank was also often not available at the level of the 
CSF or programmes. 
Innovations 
Several of the foregoing aspects already constitute a new approach to programming, other 
specific innovative measures in the context of the CSF include : 
measures covering health infrastructure have been agreed inthe context of the newly 
extended scope of the ERDF; 
concentration of operations in the infrastructure domain are those belonging to the 
transeuropean networks (motorways, railways); 
measures for renewable energy are included within the CSF which were oreviously only 
encompassed by the REGEN Community Initiative; 
special attention given to local development in large southern urban centres (Naples, 
Bari, Palermo, Catania) and other deprived areas of Mezzogiomo. 
2G 
NETHERLANDS 
FLEVOLAND 
Background 
On 29 June 1994, the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) 
1994-1999 for Flevoland. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the 
CSF is 150 million ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 80.0 (million ECU) (53.3%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 40.0 (26.7%) 
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee 
Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section 21.5 (14.3%) 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 8.5 ( 5.7%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The strategy chosen for Flevoland aims to : 
- to contribute to the attainment of the agreed development objectives agreed (improving 
employment prospects and standard of living; enhancing the competitiveness of the 
local business sector and attracting inward investment; improving economic and social 
cohesion, improving labour market supply and demand; protecting and enhancing the 
environment; 
- to make a direct contribution to the creation and maintenance of regional employment; 
- to promote a continuing increase in the regional gross value added; 
- to respond to the current strengths and weaknesses of the region. 
In pursuit of the development strategy the SPD defines the following development 
priorities : 
business development measures (14,68%) 
tourism development ( 3,45%) 
agriculture and rural development (14,17%) 
fishing ( 5,50%) 
human resources development (18,65%) 
commercial infrastructure (11,34%) 
communications (20,95%) 
research and development ( 9,60%) 
(technical assistance) ( 1,66%) 
27 
Regulations 
Examples of key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the SPD 
were the : 
- environmental situation of the region including a global assessment of the 
environmental impact of projects and the integration of environmental concerns within 
the latter; 
- appraisal of previous socio-economic policy actions covering the outcome of earlier 
development efforts in key sectors; 
- initial assessment of additionality which was demonstrated through the commitment 
of the Flevoland authorities to maintain an average Level of eligible public expenditure 
for 1994-1999 of 164,6 million ECU, or an increase of 31%» in real terms over the 
previous period. 
Added Value 
Discussion in the partnership provided a number of examples of added-value to the 
development and orientation of the SPD, for example : 
- new chapters were developed covering strategy, targets and financing arrangement and 
information regarding disparities and development gaps was provided during analysis 
of the original Development Plan; 
- the synergy and integration between the different priorities was enhanced in the SPD 
and clear targets were set for the operational objectives; 
- additional emphasis was given to the role of SMEs, and new priorities covering 
communications and tourism development were devised. 
PORTUGAL 
Background 
On 28 February 1994, the Commission adopted the Community Support Framework 
(CSF) 1994-1999 for Portugal. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the 
CSF is 13.98 billion ECU: 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (62.4%) 
European Social Fund (ESF) (22.5%) 
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee 
Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section (13.5%) 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) ( 1.6%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The agreed development strategy is based on the following main aims : 
- to provide the infrastructure that is still lacking as part of the modernization of the 
industrial fabric, including a move from labour-intensive activities to capital and 
knowledge-based activities; 
- to achieve growth supported by a modification in the structure of the economy and 
employment in line with international markets; 
- to place emphasis on actions which improve the quality of life together with changes 
which ensure the competitiveness of the economy. 
In pursuit of the aims of the development strategy the CSF defines the following 
development priorities : 
upgrading of human resources and employment ( 15,5%) 
strengthening the competitiveness of the economy (59,0%) 
promotion of the quality of life and of social cohesion ( 7,0%) 
strengthening the regional economic base (18,5%) 
29 
Regulations 
Amongst the key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations taken into account in 
developing the CSF were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1989-1993) which, for example. 
indicate that Community co-financing (approx. 8 billion ECU) enabled a total 
investment of more than 17 billion ECU with the CSF representing 27% of global 
investment in the period. Community financing is also estimated to have contributed 
3% to Portuguese GDP with implementation of the CSF having achieved a real 
convergence of 3% compared to the average Commmunity GDP (reduction of 25% of 
annual public deficit and 114% in the weight of public debt on GDP) Co-financed 
expenditure helped create 80,000 jobs whilst more than a million people benefited from 
training under the ESF; 
- expected socio-economic impact which included an estimated increase in annual GDP 
due to the CSF of 0,5% with Portuguese GDP 3% higher than it would have been 
without the Community contribution. Each year it is estimated that 90,000 jobs would 
be created or safeguarded with the CSF permitting an additional 10% per year of gross 
fixed capital formation. At sectoral level, the construction industry would for example 
grow by 3,7% a year on average with 2/3 due to Community assistance It is also 
estimated that 19% of Community funding would take the form of imports of which 
70% would originate from other Member States; 
- initial assessment of additionality which was demonstrated through the commitment 
of the Portuguese authorities to maintain an average annual level of eligible public 
expenditure for 1994-1999 of 4,658 million ECU, or an increase of 23% in real terms 
over the previous period. 
- quantification of objectives for each of the priorities, for example, a target of 
increasing the participation of 19-35 year olds in higher education to 35 or 40%; in 
term of competitiveness, a 70% coverage of imports by exports in 1999 compared to 
66,8%> in 1992 whilst, as regards quality of life, an increase from 77% in 1990 to 9% in 
1999 of the population connected to the public water supply; 
- environmental impact of the CSF which is outlined together with a description of the 
main environmental objectives (water supply, collection and treatment of waste. 
reduction in pollution, etc.). 
30 
Added Value 
Discussion in the partnership provided a number of examples of added-value to the 
development and orientation of the CSF : 
- a transparent approach was promoted as well as the establishment of quantified 
objectives in key areas (such as tourism, environment, transport, development of the 
regions and human resources); 
- a clear financial priority was agreed for the areas of education and environment in the 
context of national budgetary pressures to reduce expenditure; for example, it is 
estimated that the Structural Funds resources for the environmental measures, together 
with the Cohesion Fund, will virtually cover the public expenditure required to 
implement Community Environmental Directives linked to economic development; 
- research policy was oriented towards technology transfer whilst reducing financial 
effort in terms of infrastructure (improving the quality of research as promoting the 
latter within the private sector, especially industry); 
- an integrated approach was established for urban regeneration. 
31 
UK - HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS 
Background 
On 29 July 1994 the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) for 
Highlands and Islands. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the SPD is 
3 11 million ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 
European Agricultural Guidance 
and Guarantee Fund (EAAGF) Guidance Section 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 80.0 (Million ECU) (58.0%) 
55.2 (17.7%) 
56.0 
19.8 (18.0%) 
( 6.3%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
The strategic aim of the programme is "to promote the internal and external cohesion of 
the Highlands and Islands region over the period 1994-1999, primarily by increasing and 
sustaining GDP growth rates and reducing unemployment and underemployment" The 
overall aim is translated into four detailed objectives : 
- to strengthen the region's economy; 
- to ameliorate the problems of peripherality and insularity; 
- to strengthen the economic and social stability of communities; 
- to preserve existing environmental quality and ensure environmental sensitivity of 
future economic development 
To attain these objectives the following development priorities were established 
business development 
tourism, Heritage and Cultural development 
preservation and enhancement of the environment 
development of the primary sector and related food industries 
community development 
communications and services networks to support business and 
community development 
(technical assistance) (23.18%) 
( 7.78%) 
( 5.24%) 
(22 10%) 
(15.10%) 
(25.60%) 
( 1.00%) 
Regulations 
Examples of key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of the SPD were the : 
- experience of past programmes and initiatives which provided lessons for the new 
Objective 1 programme, for example, geographic targeting to underpin project 
selection; the requirement for expenditure on basic infrastructure to demonstrate direct 
economic benefits, the development of local communities; 
- prior appraisal of the document which suggests that the SPD could be expected to . 
• broaden the industrial structure; 
• promote enterprise and lifelong learning skills; 
• strengthen the region's key sectors; 
• enhance the business support networks, 
• increase environmental awareness; 
- expected socio-economic impact of the programme which in particular sets out to 
raise GDP per capita by up to 4 % and to provide an additional 2,500 full-time jobs by 
the end of 1999; 
- environment which is of high quality in the Highlands and Islands and whose 
importance has been reflected in all the priorities and measures of the SPD. 
Added Value 
Discussion in the partnership provided a number of examples of added value to the 
development and orientation of the SPD : 
- the considerable number of indicative actions (134) initially presented in the Regional 
Plan were reorganized during the negotiation to form a coherent set of measures within 
the framework of priorities. Ouput and impact indicators were developed for the global 
objectives for GDP and employment creation as well as for the strategic objectives and 
for each measure. These were all quantified where possible; 
- a geographic dimension was added to the programme in order to reflect the widely 
disparate economic and social characteristics of the region. Geographic targeting will 
be carried out by the Programme Monitoring Committee to ensure the concentration of 
resources in areas of greatest need; 
- the integration and coherence of measures (and between the Funds) has been 
strengthened, for example specific training for business development skills has been 
located within the business priority rather than within a separate Human Resources 
priority. 
33 
Innovations 
A number of new approaches in the Highlands and Islands context feature in the SPD, for 
example : 
a new emphasis on the need for sustainable development and measures to protect or 
enhance the environment; 
greater emphasis on business development and involvement and investment by the 
private sector; 
the extension of training to schemes for the employed and an emphasis on demand led 
business and other specialised training needs 
a commitment to develop a more sophisticated project selection procedure particularly 
to reflect the added geographic dimension. 
UK-MERSEYSIDE 
Background 
On 29 July the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) for 
Merseyside. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the SPD is 816 million 
ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section 475 Million ECU 
338 (58.2%) 
(41.4%) 
( 0.4%) 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
Seven strategic objectives were chosen for Structural Fund action 
- investing in industry; 
- investing in people; 
- enhancing technology; 
- increasing employment opportunities; 
- assisting Merseyside's role as a major gateway; 
- building on Merseyside's strengths in the cultural/media/tourism field; 
- maintaining a high quality of life, 
and which are addressed by five key "drivers for change" : - the key corporate sector 
enterprises in the region, the home grown small business sector, the knowledge-based 
industries and advanced technologies, the cultural, media and leisure industries, the people 
oi Merseyside 
The Objective 1 programme consists of the following priorities drawn up on the basis of 
the drivers for change : 
inward investment and key corporate business development (22.9%) 
indigenous enterprise and local business development (18.4%) 
knowledge-based industries and advanced technology development; ( 7.6%) 
developing the cultural, media and leisure industries ( 6.4%>) 
action for the people of Merseyside (44.2%) 
(technical assistance) ( 0.5%) 
35 
Regulations 
Examples of key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of the SPD were the : 
- results of previous initiatives which provided a number of key lessons for the design 
and balance of the new Objective 1 programme, for example, the need for increased 
provision of industrial sites and premises and of business development measures and 
for the emphasis of transport provision to be shifted from road towards public 
transport, the port and the airport. Tourism - related projects should be combined with 
better appraisal of economic benefits whilst ESF support should be more concentrated 
on schemes targeted on specific problems; 
- prior appraisal of the SPD which suggested that Structural Funds resources would 
help boost Merseyside's growth rate by 25% and enable a net increase of over 25,000 
jobs by 1999, whilst the Objective 1 programme should also attract an extra 1.3 - 1.8 
billion ECU of private sector investment; 
- environmental profile of the region setting out the current environmental situation; 
the estimated impact of development and the legal and administrative framework 
including the designation of the "competent authorities". 
Added Value 
Discussion in the partnership led to a number of examples of added value to the 
development and orientation of the SPD : 
- the effectiveness of the Funds will be increased by the geographical targeting of 
resources towards areas of need and opportunity; whilst the identification of the drivers 
for change was crucial for the establishement of the priorities and direction of the 
programmes as a whole; a restructuring of the priorities was undertaken in order to 
better reflect the key drivers for change and the quantified outputs of the programme; 
- ESF and ERDF were fully integrated so that ESF measures contributed to each 
priority; 
- an increased allocation of ERDF resources was agreed for RTD activity linked to 
knowledge-based industries (from 22.85 MECU in the Plan to 42 MECU in the SPD 
with an increased and specific allocation of 20 MECU for the ESF; 
- the emphasis was strengthened with respect to the potential of the cultural and tourism 
industries. 
36 
Innovations 
A number of new approaches are of particular note in the context of Merseyside for 
example : 
geographical targeting on deprived areas through the "pathways to integration" 
measure with an emphasis on local economic partnerships to deliver the approach; 
the establishment of a Labour Market Strategy group to monitor and advise 
theMonitoring Group. ^ 
37 
UK - NORTHERN IRELAND 
Background 
On 29 July 1994, the Commission adopted the Single Programming Document (SPD) for 
Northern Ireland. The total assistance from the Structural Funds through the SPD is 1,233 
million ECU : 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
European Social Fund (ESF) 
European Agricultural Guidance and 
Guidance Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section 
Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) 677.0 (million ECU) (55%) 
354.0 (29%) 
186.9 
15.1 (15%) 
( 1% 
Development Strategy and Priorities 
To meet the stated aim of the Norther Ireland Plan: "To promote economic and social 
cohesion both within Northern Ireland and relative to the other regions of the European 
Community" the strategic effort is being directed at three broad categories of activity : 
- economic growth (comprising the strategic themes of business and technological 
development and agricultural and rural development); 
- internal cohesion (human infrastructure and Community infrastructure) 
- external cohesion (spatial coherence, cross-border coherence). 
These strategic themes support the following development priorities : 
promoting economic development and competitiveness 
investment in communities and people 
reducing the effect of peripherality 
the development of agriculture, fisheries and the rural economy 
protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment 
(technical assistance) (25.56%) 
(25.62%) 
(26.05%) 
(17.44%) 
( 5.20%) 
( 0.13%) 
38 
Regulations 
Examples of key provisions of the Structural Funds Regulations contributing to the 
development of the SPD were the : 
- results of the previous programming period (1989-1993) which indicate a short-run 
regional multiplier effect from the CSF of between 1.15 and 1.4 which will generate 
additional income/employment within the economy. This is in the context of GDP 
growth in Northern Ireland of 0.9% per year between 1989 and 1992 compared with a 
fall of 1.1% for the UK as a whole although per capita GDP fell from just over 75%> of 
the EC average to 74% by 1991. Total employment increased but long term 
unemployment stood at 52.4%> (July 1993) of total unemployment, compared with 
37% for the UK as a whole. 
- expected socio-economic impact of the new SPD where it is estimated that total 
employment will increase by about 12000 net jobs (2%) with a marginal increase in per 
capita GDP from 81% to 82% relative to the UK average. Manufacturing employment 
will be maintained, gross exports will increase by 20%, and value added per employee 
will increase by 18%. Business expenditure on RTD as a % of GDP will be raised to 
the UK average with tourism revenue and employment projected to increase by 
approximately 50%. 
- environmental aspect of operations which will be addressed through assessment 
indicators to measure their impact on the environment whilst projects will have to meet 
criteria to ensure that any adverse environmental impact is small in relation to the 
benefits and that alternative means of implementation have been considered. 
Government will also ensure that the appropriate environmental authorities are 
involved in all stages of implementing the SPD. 
Added Value 
Discussion and negotiation in the partnership led to a number of positive outcomes 
including significant improvements to the quantification of targets and objectives and an 
enhanced level of detail at the level of sub-programmes and measures. Other 
developments, for example, related to the allocation of resources, (including between the 
different Funds), and the restructuring of priorities : 
- although only a relatively small shift of ERDF resources (38 MECU) was made, within 
the ESF, 167 MECU was moved from the original Human Resources priority to the 
sectoral priorities achieving a balance between "economic" and "social" actions of 
40/60 (compared to 20/80 in the plan). A small shift of 3 MECU was also made 
between the EAGGF and FIFG to increase fisheries provision; 
- at the sectoral level more emphasis was achieved for 'soft' support such as marketing, 
the provision of venture and seed capital and the promotion of innovation. A reduction 
in the overall tourism allocation was counterbalanced by an increased budget for 
tourism training; 
- the targeting and refocusing of existing national schemes under the ESF was improved 
by regrouping and devising new measures and targeting training measures on specific 
groups; 
39 
Jual a coherent strategy document for transport was agreed rather than a list of individu... 
projects, whilst increased provision was also agreed for gas and electricity 
interconnectors. 
- agreement was not however achieved by the partners for a proposals, for example, to 
include the Social Partners in the monitomg Committes (although they will be kept 
informed) nor are independent external evaluators to be provided for the evaluation of 
all sub-programmes. 
Innovations 
As expected, the priorities and measures for 1994-1999 show a considerable degree of 
continuity with the previous period but there are, however, new measures in the fields of 
energy, local and rural development and the environment : 
completion of the major part of the gas pipeline between Northern Ireland and 
Scotland aimed at ending the isolation of the region's energy network and improving 
energy efficiency; 
a new measure to assist District Councils in the promotion of local economic 
development by supplementing their powers to raise 2 p in the £ on local rates, 
together with a new measure to assist community infrastructure; 
rural development will be funded for the first time drawing on the success of the 
LEADER initiative; 
a new priority has been introduced for the improvement of the environment dealing 
with water supply, waste water and environmental protection whilst measures have 
also been introduced to safeguard and enhance the rural environment. 
40 
ANNEX III 
ANNEXE III 
ANLAGE III 
OBJECTIVE 2 - OBJECTIF 2 - ZIEL 2 
THE RESULTS BY MEMBER STATES 
RÉSULTATS PAR ETATS MEMBRES 
RESULT ATE PRO MITGLIEDSTAAT 

BELGIUM 
Background 
In the course of December 1994,the Commission adopted the four Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the Belgian regions of Limburg, Turnhout, Aubange and Liège 
eligible for assistance from the Structural Funds under Objective 2. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 160 (ERDF 81.25%; 
ESF 18.75%) distributed as follows : 
MECU MECU 
Limburg 46.8 Liège 88.5 
Turnhout 23.4 Aubange 1.3 
Regional Development Strategies and Expected Impact 
The strategic aim of the SPDs for both Limburg and Turnhout is to improve 
employment prospects and living standards for the regional labour force by promoting the 
economic potential of the region without damaging the environment. 
The overall target for each region is to achieve a growth of 10,000 additional jobs by 
1998, (including reducing by 2% the difference in employment level between Turnhout 
and Flanders as well as between the different parts of both regions ). 
The objective in Liège is to concentrate on the manufacturing sector and draw in 
additional services. The strategy would be to build on the undoubted strengths of the 
metal and agro-food industry through a triple action of investment, R&D and staff 
training. The target of stabilising unemployment at its 1992 level will require the creation 
of around 1,300 to 2,000 jobs a year. 
Analysis of development potential in the region of Aubange determined a strategy aimed 
primarily at diversifying the productive fabric, by local development and expansion of 
existing activities, strengthening links between different economic actors and giving 
priority to training and technology. Compared to a 10 year target set in 1985 of 1500 new 
jobs in the Belgian part of the region, almost 1200 had been created as at June 1994 
leaving a balance of 300 to be achieved by 1995. 
Development Priorities 
In both Limburg and Turnhout three development priorities were selected for 
Community support : 
Promotion of the industrial sector, in particular SMEs 
Promotion of the market services sector, especially business services, transport, 
telematics and tourism 
Enhancing the region's environment 
The following development priorities were agreed for Liège : 
Revitalization and diversification of the industrial fabric 
Promotion of technological innovation 
Strengthening the attractiveness of the region 
Support for growth and employment 
In Aubange, measures (Welcome facilities, promotion of technological innovation 
and support for SME development) are being undertaken within one priority for : 
Support for Business Development and Employment Growth 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure as well as the percentage allocation by region : 
- Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support infrastructure) 
MECU 76 (47.5%) 
(Limburg 19%; Turnhout 11%; Liège 70%) 
- Human Resources ( Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 52.8 (33%) 
(Limburg 38%; Turnhout 13.5%; Aubange 7%; Liège 47.8%) 
- Planning and regeneration (Industrial sites, Urban areas) 
MECU 18.8 (11.75%) 
(Limburg 38%;Turnhout 30.6%; Aubange 5.7%; Liège 26.7%) 
Environmental Protection (Clean technologies, recycling etc.) 
MECU 8.1 ( 5%) 
(Limburg 37.8%; Turnhout 15.9%; Liège 46.3%) 
- Technical Assistance MECU 4.1 ( 2.75%) 
* # * 
DENMARK 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the two Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the Danish regions of North Jutland and Lolland eligible for 
assistance from the Structural Funds under Objective 2. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 56 (ERDF 79%»; ESF 21%) 
distributed as follows : 
MECU 
North Jutland 46.48 
Lolland 9 52 
Regional Development Strategies and Expected Impact 
The overall strategic aim of the SPD for North Jutland is to increase the number of 
companies and jobs and to reduce the stuctural vulnerability of the area by increasing the 
competitiveness of the businesses of the area. Some of the estimated results of the 
activities of the SPD include the creation of approximative^ 3,000 new jobs, and an 
increase in the turnover of SMEs of MECU 400 (cf. which MECU 175 in exports) with 
70% establishing new export activities and 60% introducing new technologies or 
productions. The strategy for Lolland focuses on developing the internal resources of the 
region together with the strengthening of contacts with national and international business 
and R&D centres. Estimated results include the creation and presentation of 
approximatively 400 jobs, training of 600-650 people with 40 SMEs participating in 
training activities. 
Development Priorities 
In North Jutland the strategic aim is addressed by three development priorities : 
Internationalization (manufacturing) 
Business development (service industry) 
Tourism 
The main priority in Lolland is for : 
Business development 
with the focus on SMEs and the development of tourism. 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure as well as the percentage allocation by region : 
- Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support infrastructure) 
MECU 23.38 (41.75%) 
(North Jutland 84%; Lolland 16%) 
- Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 31.64 (56.50%) 
(North Jutland 83%; Lolland 17%) 
- Technical Assistance MECU 1.00 ( 1.75%) 
* * * 
FRANCE 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the 19 Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the French regions eligible under Objective 2. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 1,763.2 (ERDF 82,4%; 
ESF 17.6%) distributed as follows : 
Alsace 
Auvergne 
Bretagne 
Centre 
Franche-Comté 
Languedoc-Roussillon 
Midi-Pyrénées 
Pays de la Loire 
Poitou-Charentes 
Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur MECU 
19,6 
61.1 
89.7 
24.2 
47.8 
146 
42.6 
135.9 
53.3 
113.1 Aquitaine 
Basse- Normandie 
Bourgogne 
Champagne-Ardennes 
Haute-Normandie 
Lorraine 
Nord-Pas-de-Cala is 
Picardie 
Rhône-Alpes MECU 
107.1 
57.8 
49.4 
77.5 
146 
127.4 
318.1 
122.4 
99.7 
Regional Development Strategies and Expected Impact 
The strategic aim underlying the interventions of the Structural Funds in these regions, as 
developed in partnership, concerns the creation of employment. On the one hand, the 
structure of the local jobs market needs to be modified whilst increasing the level of 
qualifications in the eligible regions; on the other hand it is necessary to promote the 
development of new jobs in the light of the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and 
Employment. 
The approach taken varies according to the regions concerned. 
- In the North and East regions (Haute Normandie, Nord-Pas-Calais, Picardie, 
Champagne-Ardennes, Lorraine, Alsace, Franche-Comté) following decline in 
traditional industrial sectors, the accent is placed on the diversification of economic 
activities, on the development of technology transfer and research for the benefit of 
business and improvement in living standards and the environment. The expected 
impact on employment is, for example, around 31,000 jobs in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, 
21,500 for Lorraine, 2,000 for Franche-Comté and 1,000 for Alsace. 
- For the regions in the West (Basse-Normandie and Pays de la Loire) the strategy is 
directed towards training for businesses, the diversification of economic activities, 
especially into the tourist sector and to convert or modernize port facilities. The impact 
in terms of employment creation, as specified in the SPDs, is about 2,000 jobs in 
Basse-Normandie and 10,000 in Bretagne. 
- For Central and South West regions (Poitou-Charentes, Aquitaine, Centre, 
Bourgogne, Auvergne) the accent is on supporting and strengthening the 
competitiveness of existing sectors in order to limited anticipated job losses. 
- In the regions of the South (Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence 
Alpes-Côtes d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes) the priority is for consolidating the fabric of 
businesses and strengthening the region's potential, especially through improvements to 
the ports and in the tourism sector. The number of jobs created or safeguarded is 
forecast at 5,000 for Midi-Pyrénées, 8,500 for Languedoc-Roussillon and 12,900 for 
Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur. 
Development Priorities 
In addressing the strategic aims, virtually all the SPDs encompass the following main 
development priorities : 
• Revival of economic activity, including adapting existing economic and industrial 
potential - all regions 
• Diversification of activities (eg. Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire) 
• Enhancing the environment and attractiveness of the region 
(eg. Nord Pas de Calais, Midi-Pyrénées) 
• Strengthening business fabric and competitiveness and regional support for companies 
(eg. Centre, Basse-Normandie) 
• Training and research for business, including technology transfer 
(eg. Auvergne, Poitou-Charentes) 
• Human resources (eg. Franche-Comté, Bourgogne) 
• Modernizing tourist facilities (eg. Provcnces-Côtes d'Azur, Lorraine) 
• Improving port facilities (eg. Bretagne, Haute-Normandie) 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure : 
Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support 
infrastructures) 
MECU 710 (40%) 
Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 614 (35%) 
Planning and regeneration (Industrial site. Urban areas) MECU 313 (18%) 
Environmental Protection (clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 103 ( 6%) 
Technical Assistance MECU 25 ( 1%) 
* * * 
GERMANY 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the 9 Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the German regions of Bayern, Berlin, Bremen, Hessen, 
Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland and Schleswig 
Hobstein eligible under Objective 2. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 733 (ERDF 70%; 
ESF 30%) distributed as follows : 
MECU MECU 
Bayern 14.66 Nordrhein-Westfalen 361.37 
Berlin 158 33 Rheinland-Pfalz 23.46 
Bremen 46 91 Saarland 49.11 
Hessen 21.26 Schleswig Holstein 15.39 
Niedersachsen 42.51 
Regional Development Strategies and Expected Impact 
The key strategic aim in Bayern is to reduce dependence on traditional industry through 
diversification especially to strengthen SMEs and promote new businesses. 
Berlin's strategy aims to stop the process of de-industrialization and assume a locomotive 
function for East Berlin and the surrounding area, including the most of its long tradition 
in the field of science and technology and in its renewed role as capital city. 
Bremen's strategy to overcome structural weakness is through diversification, 
strengthening of the tertiary sector and improving its location factors, including protection 
and improvement of the environment. In Hessen a supply-oriented strategy aims to 
improve the availability of industrial land, investment in human capital, improving 
technology transfer and increasing peoples' awareness of the region. 
For Niedersachsen the strategy pursues two main aims : tackling job losses resulting from 
structural change; creation of a stable and competitive economic structure. The regional 
development strategy for Nordrhein-Westfalen has been developed in the context of 
additional contraction in the coal and steel sectors, "necessitating accompanying structural 
policy measures, the promotion of alternative activities (eg. innovation and technology 
transfer, strengthening the service sector and skills training). 
In Rheinland-Pfalz the strategic objectives support further expansion of infrastructure 
associated with the economy, technology transfer ans technology-for example,oriented 
vocational training and an increase in the workforce's qualifications. Saarland's 
development objective includes consolidating specific regional advantages, improving the 
accessibility and attractiveness of the region and promoting technologically demanding, 
high value production methods and the service sector. Likewise, in Schleswig Holstein 
the main economic policy is the creation of long-term high grade alternative jobs with 
efforts to ensure the reuse of industrial wasteland and former military sites. 
The expected impacts in the Länder primarily relate to the maintenance creation of new 
jobs and businesses (eg. 4,500-14,000 additional jobs in Bremen; 35-40 new businesses in 
Bayern); the establishment of new industrial sites (eg. 50 ha and 250 ha of industrial sites 
in Saarland and Niedersachsen respectively); training (eg. 600 trained through ESF 
vocational training programmes in Bayern) and environmental investments. 
Development Priorities 
In addressing the above strategic aims the Single Programming Documents encompass the 
following development priorities 
• Establishment, conversion and expansion of industrial sites and start-up centres for 
SMEs (eg. Berlin, Bayern, Rheinland-Pfalz) 
• Infrastructure creation (inc. SMEs) - (eg. Nordrhein Westfalen, Hessen) 
• New Technology (inc. technology transfer) - (eg. Saarland, Bremen) 
• Qualification of workforce (inc. career guidance) - (eg. Bremen, Hessen) 
• Environmental Investment (eg. Berlin) 
• Research and Development (eg. Niedersachsen) 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure : 
Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support 
infrastructures) MECU 245 (33%) 
Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 293 (40%) 
Planning and regeneration (Industrial sites. Urban areas) MECU 132 (18%) 
Environmental Protection (clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 52 ( 7%) 
Technical Assistance MECU 11 ( 2%) 
* * * 
ITALY 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the 11 Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the regions of Italy eligible under Objective 2. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 684 (ERDF 79%; 
ESF 21%) distributed as follows : 
Emilia-Romagna 
Fruili-Venezia Giulia 
Lazio 
Liguria 
Lombardia 
Marche MECU 
12 
24 
64 
96 
23 
21 Piemonte 
Toscana 
Umbria 
Vallée d'Aosta 
Veneto MECU 
205 
127 
35 
6 
71 
Regional Development Strategies and Expected Impact 
The development strategies of the Italian Objective 2 SPDs have been underpinned by a 
strengthening of priorities for the creation of jobs in line with the guidelines of the White 
Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment. Included amongst the job creation 
targets contained in the SPDs are 930 new jobs (and 650 maintained) in Emilia-Romagna 
and 1,000 new jobs in Lazio) 
The strategies are also constructed around the following aspects : 
- Research and Technological Development, including the promotion of innovation in 
SMEs (development of Science and Technology Parks and laboratories linked to SME 
activity), business innovation services, for example, 1,000 businesses will be involved 
in action for the promotion and diffusion of technological innovation; 
- A strengthed role for Human Resources with not only an increased emphasis compared 
to the original proposals of the Italian authorities, but also an emphasis on the quality 
of training actions. In terms of integration of the ESF and the ERDF, most priorities 
contain contributions from both Funds towards the realisation of priority objectives; 
- Protection of the Environment, including aids to investment and environmental 
infrastructures, for example in Toscana, it is expected to treat 250,000 m3 of waste; the 
target in Valley d'Aosta is for 25.2%» of industrial sites to be regenerated for the 
purpose of new economic activity; 
- Support for local development which pursues and strengthens previous actions for 
SMEs; in Liguria, for example, 50 new businesses are expected to be created with 490 
existing SMEs strengthened. 
Development Priorities 
In addressing the above strategic aims, most Single Programming Documents encompass 
several of the following main development priorities : 
Research and Technological innovation, diversification and transfer 
Environment 
Development of Human Resources 
Creation of businesses and the development and reconversion of SMEs 
Territorial planning (including strengthening port facilities - Toscana, Liguria) 
Tourism 
Strengthening the productive (manufacturing) base 
Two "geographical priorities" have been agreed for Veneto - "Marghera and Laguna 
Veneta", including the first phase of a science park, and "Polesine" where a variety of 
actions will be managed by a consortium of communes including those aimed at the 
development of SMEs. 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure : 
Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support 
infrastructures) MECU 334.7 (49%) 
Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 204.3 (30%) 
Planning and Regeneration (Industrial sites, Urban areas) 
MECU 86 (13%) 
Environmental Protection (clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 48.4 ( 7%) 
- Technical Assistance MECU 10.6 ( 1%) 
* * * 
10 
LUXEMBURG 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the region of Esch-sur-AIzettc and Capcllen concerned by 
Objective 2 in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 7 (ERDF 86%; ESF 14%) 
Regional Development Strategy and Expected Impact 
The strategy provides continuity with the previous period (1991-1993) especially given 
the almost continuous geography of the eligible region and its traditional heavy 
dependence on the steel industry. In general terms, the strategic approach aims to 
strengthen efforts to avoid the concentration of economic activity and jobs in a single 
sector (tertiary), and a single region (the capital). Nonetheless, new emphasis is being 
given to the re-use of old industrial buildings and wasteland, to environmental problems 
and the promotion of human resources. 
Amongst the expected impacts from the development priorities selected (see below) are 
the creation of 15 to 20 companies and 300-400 jobs in the ZARE industrial zone and the 
reclamation of around 74 hectares of land in the old industrial site of PAFEWE with a 
view to the establishment of 4 new businesses and the creation of about 300 jobs. Training 
actions also aim, for example, at supplementing existing qualifications to meet industrial 
change and are targeted at a total of 1,135 people. 
Development Priorities 
In pursuing the above strategy, three development priorities were selected for Community 
financing : 
Support for the industrial sector 
Support for other sectors 
Environmental protection 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure : 
- Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support infrastructure) 
MECU 1 (14.2%) 
- Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 2 (28.6%) 
- Planning and Regeneration (Industrial sites. Urban areas) MECU 2 (28.6%) 
- Environmental Protection (Clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 2 (28.6%) 
H 

NETHERLANDS 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the five Single Programming 
Documents (SPDs) for the Dutch regions of Arnhem-Nijmegen, Zuidoost Brabant, 
Zuid-Limbourg, Twente and Gröningen-Drenthe. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 300 (ERDF 69%; ESF 31%) 
distributed as follows : 
Arnhem-Nijmegen 
Zuid-Limburg 
Groningen-Drenthe MECU 
56 
43 
76 Zuidoost Brabant 
Twente MECU 
67 
58 
Regional Development Strategy and Expected Impact 
The underlying strategy of all the Dutch SPDs is towards the achievement of growth and 
the creation of new jobs and improved living standards; the SPDs for Zuid-Limburg and 
Twente also specifically stress the need to ensure that the environment is not undermined 
as a result. Amongst the estimated outputs are an extra 2,000 jobs (1,800 in industry, 200 
in tourism) in both Arnhem-Nijmegen and Zuidoost Brabant with an additional 210 
jobs by 1998 in Groningen-Drenthe as a direct result of the SPDs, increasing to 640-800 
by the year 2000). A target for Twente is a reduction in the regional component of 
unemployment to 0.5% by 1998. Zuid-Limburg expects to see a 10% increase in the 
share of SMEs in total industrial production. 
Development Priorities 
All five regions selected the following development priorities for Community support : 
Strengthening Industry and Business services (inc. technology development, with a 
specific priority for" Knowledge Development" - Zuid-Limburg only) 
Tourism (inc. urban environment) 
Transport and Distribution (and Logistics) 
13 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure as well as the percentage allocation by region : 
- Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support infrastructure) 
MECU 141.39 (43.8%) 
(Arnhem-Nijmegen 18 5%; Zuidoost-Brabant 24.4%; Zuid-Limburg 10.7%; 
Twente 23.5%; Groningen-Drenthe 22.9%) 
- Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 112.79 (37.6%) 
(Arnhem-Nijmegen 20.1%; Zuidoost-Brabant 23.9%; Zuid-Limburg 13.1%; 
Twente 16.6%; Groningen-Drenthe 26.3%) 
- Planning and Regeneration (Industrial sites, Urban areas) 
MECU 41.47 (13.8%) 
(Arnhem-Nijmegen 15.5%; Zuidoost-Brabant 14.5%; Zuid-Limburg 26.7%; 
Twente 16.8%; Groningen-Drenthe 26.5%) 
- Environmental Protection (Clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 5 ( 1.8%) 
(Zuid-Limburg 41%; Groningen-Drenthe 59%) 
- Technical Assistance MECU 9,270 ( 3,0%) 
* * * 
14 
SPAIN 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the Community Support 
Framework (CSF) for the regions of Spain eligible under Objective 2. 
The decision to remain with the CSF approach took into account, in particular, the desire 
of the regions to be closely involved in the regional programmes. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 1,130 (ERDF 77%; 
ESF 23%) distributed as follows : 
Multi-regional 
Aragon 
Baléares 
Cataluna MECU 
492.92 Madrid 
34.59 Navarra 
10.37 La Rioja 
308.97 Pais Vasco MECU 
76.74 
20.35 
7.87 
179.19 
Regional Development Strategies 
As with most Objective 2 regions of the European Union, the Spanish regions in industrial 
decline exhibit high levels of unemployment and significant reductions in traditional 
industry. The strategic aims of Community intervention thus relate to the reduction of 
unemployment and increased competitiveness of businesses. In this context, in comparison 
with the Plan originally submitted, the partnership in agreement with the Spanish 
authorities, established a CSF which constituted : 
- greater emphasis on SMEs in the final field of productive investment and professional 
training; 
- an increase in research, technology and innovation: 
- a better integration of the Structural Funds; 
- modulated co-financing rates for the different priorities. 
Development Priorities 
In addressing the above strategic aims the CSF encompasses the following development 
priorities : 
Support for employment and the competitiveness of businesses 
Protection of the Environment 
Support for Research, Technology and Innovation 
Development of transport linked to economic activity 
Local and Urban Development 
15 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure : 
Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support 
infrastructures) MECU 592 (45.2%) 
Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 317 (34.1%) 
Planning and Regeneration (Industrial sites, Urban areas) MECU 174 
(13.7%) 
Environmental Protection (clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 40 ( 5.7%) 
- Technical Assistance MECU 8 ( 1.3%) 
* * * 
16 
UNITED KINGDOM 
Background 
In the course of December 1994, the Commission adopted the thirteen Single 
Programming Documents (SPDs) for the UK regions eligible under Objective 2. 
The total contribution of the Funds amounts to MECU 2,142.3 (ERDF 77%; ESF 23%) 
distributed as follows : 
MECU 
East London and the Lee Valley 74 
East Midlands 79 
Eastern Scotland 121 
Gibraltar 5 
Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Chelshire 329 
Industrial South Wales 188 
North East England 308 MECU 
Plymouth 29 
Thanet 14 
West Midlands 371 
West Cumbria and Furness 25 
Western Scotland 286 
Yorkshire and Humberside 313 
Regional Development Strategy and Expected Impact 
The development strategies of the U.K. Objective 2 SPDs have been devised in the 
context of the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment. They include 
the following key strategic aims which are shared by many of the documents as 
exemplified below : 
- the general aim of helping businesses competitiveness, including helping businesses to 
use new technology is incorporated in the strategies of, for example, East Midlands, 
East London and the Lee Valley and Eastern Scotland; 
- the development of a workforce with skills relevant to forecasts needs, leading to good 
quality jobs is especially included, for example, as a strategic aim for Yorkshire and 
Humberside, West Cumbria and Furness and Gibraltar. In Yorkshire and 
Humberside ex-ante assessment at the programmes estimates that 35,180 people will 
be trained whereas 400 new jobs will be created in Gibraltar, including replacing those 
in defence and ship repair by jobs in other sectors; 
- the attraction of inward investment is a particular feature in the strategic development 
of North East England (where forecast impacts include 25 additional job-creating 
investments from new or existing inward investors), Western Scotland and East 
London and the Lee Valley; 
17 
- the expansion of the SME base is included as a specific strategic aim for West 
Cumbria and Furness and Yorkshire and Humberside, the latter expecting the 
measures to assist with the creation of 100 new businesses. In Plymouth, for example, 
500 net new business registrations per annum are anticipated; 
- diversification of activity towards achieving a self-reliant economic base is reflected in 
the development of job opportunities within the cultural and media industries under the 
strategic approach of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire as well as, for 
example, North East England where expected tourism outputs include 2 million 
additional visitor trips to the region and an extra 300,000 overnight stays per annum; 
- the improvement of the social and economic position of the region and the reduction of 
further divergence within the regional economy are strategic aims of most of the 
Programmes. The complementary strategy of; 
- focusing resources from both the ERDF and ESF on less-well off parts of the region is. 
for example, exemplified in the Plymouth and Greater Manchester documents. 
Development Priorities 
In addressing such strategic aims virtually all the Single Programming Documents also 
encompass the following main development priorities : 
Action to support SMEs including strengthening and diversification of mature SMEs 
Strengthening knowledge based industries and advanced technology development 
Action to attract new industry and services (including inward investment) 
Development of tourism and cultural industries (as well as environment and image) 
Community Economic Development ("regional economic and social cohesion") 
Certain other priorities are specific to the needs and characteristics of particular areas 
eg. "Internationalisation" (Thanet), or action for the Valleys and Disadvantaged Areas of 
Industrial South Wales. 
Sectoral Breakdown 
The following sets out the overall breakdown by total expenditure on each of the main 
categories of expenditure : 
- Productive Environment (Industry and services, SMEs, tourism, support infrastructure) 
MECU 1,038 (48%) 
- Human Resources (Training, aids to employment, Training centres, equipment, R&D) 
MECU 755 (35%) 
- Planning and Regeneration (Industrial sites. Urban areas) MECU 189 ("9%) 
- Environmental Protection (Clean technologies, recycling, etc.) 
MECU 138 ( 7%) 
- Technical Assistance MECU 22 ( 1%) 
18 

ISSN 1024-4506 
KOM(95) 111 slutlig 
DOKUMENT 
SV 13 
Katalognummer : CB-CO-95-130-SV-C 
ISBN 92-77-87256-X 
Byrån för Europeiska gemenskapernas officiella publikationer 
L-2985 Luxemburg