Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 1999 on the European Regional Development Fund
Date: 1999-07-12
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: European Regional Development Fund, economic and social cohesion, economic conversion, regional aid, regional development, regional disparity

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) No 1783/1999 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 12 July 1999

on the European Regional Development Fund (*)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

question state that it is to support innovative measures
at Community level and technical assistance measures;

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 162 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Having regard to the opinion of
Regions (3),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (4),

(1) Whereas Article 160 of the Treaty provides that the
European Regional Development
is
intended to help redress the main regional imbalances in
the Community; whereas the ERDF therefore contributes
to reducing the gap between the levels of development
of the various regions and the extent to which the
least-favoured regions and islands, including rural areas,
are lagging behind;

Fund (ERDF)

(2) Whereas Article 2(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provi-
sions on the Structural Funds (5) provides that the main
task of the ERDF is to contribute to the attainment of
Objectives 1 and 2, as referred to in Article 1, first
subparagraph, points 1 and 2 (hereinafter referred to as
‘Objectives 1 and 2’) of that Regulation; whereas Articles
20 and 21 of the same Regulation provide that the
ERDF is to contribute to financing cross-border, transna-
tional and interregional cooperation as well as
to
economic and social regeneration of cities and urban
neighbourhoods in crisis under the Community Initi-
atives; whereas Articles 22 and 23 of the Regulation in

(*) This publication cancels

and replaces
appeared in OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 43.

the publication which

(1) OJ C 176, 9.6.1998, p. 35 and
OJ C 52, 23.2.1999, p. 12.
(2) OJ C 407, 28.12.1998, p. 74.
(3) OJ C 51, 22.2.1999, p. 1.
(4) European Parliament Opinion of 19 November 1998 (OJ C 379,
7.12.1998, p. 178), Council Common Position of 14 April 1999
(OJ C 134, 14.5.1999, p. 1) and European Parliament Decision of 6
May 1999 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Council De-
cision of 21 June 1999.
(5) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.

(3) Whereas the provisions common to the Structural Funds
are set out in Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999; whereas
the type of measures which may be financed by the
ERDF under Objectives 1 and 2, the Community Initi-
atives and innovative measures should be defined;

(4) Whereas the contribution of the ERDF, in the context of
its task of promoting regional development,
to the
harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of
economic activity, to a high degree of competitiveness,
to a high level of employment, to equality between
women and men and to a high level of protection and
improvement of the environment should be defined;

(5) Whereas the ERDF should provide assistance within the
framework of a comprehensive and integrated strategy
for sustainable development and ensure synergy with
assistance from the other Structural Funds;

(6) Whereas, as part of its tasks, the ERDF should support
the productive environment and the competitiveness of
enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enter-
local economic development and employment,
prises;
including in the fields of culture and tourism where
these contribute to the creation of sustainable jobs;
research and technological development; the develop-
ment of local, regional and trans-European networks
including the provision of suitable access to the said
networks in the sectors of transport infrastructure, tele-
communications
the protection and
improvement of the environment taking into account
the principles of precaution and that preventive action
should be taken, that environmental damage should as a
priority be rectified at source and that
the polluter
should pay and by fostering the clean and efficient util-
isation of energy and the development of renewable
energy sources; and equality between women and men
in the field of employment;

and energy;

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(7) Whereas the ERDF should play a particular role in
favour of local economic development, in the context of
improving the quality of life and developing the ter-
ritory, especially by promoting territorial employment
pacts and new sources of employment;

(8) Whereas the ERDF should as part of its task support
investment in favour of the rehabilitation of abandoned
areas with a view to local, rural or urban economic
development;

in achieving

(9) Whereas measures of Community interest undertaken at
the initiative of the Commission have an important role
to play
general objectives of
the
Community structural action referred to in Article 1 of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999; whereas, to that end, in
view of the value it adds at Community level,
it is
important that the ERDF continue to promote cross-
border,
transnational and inter-regional cooperation,
including in the regions located on the external frontiers
of the Union within the meaning of the Treaty, the
least-favoured islands and the outermost regions, in view
of their special features and difficulties; whereas in the
context of that cooperation, the harmonious, balanced
and sustainable development of
the
Community territory,
including in connection with
spatial planning, adds value to action to promote
economic and social cohesion; whereas the contribution
of the ERDF to that development should be continued
and increased; whereas moreover
is desirable to
support the economic and social regeneration of cities
and urban neighbourhoods in crisis with a view to
promoting sustainable urban development;

the whole of

it

(10) Whereas it is appropriate to lay down the powers for
adoption of the implementing provisions and to set out
transitional provisions;

(11) Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 4254/88 of 19
December 1988 laying down provisions for imple-
menting Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the
European Regional Development Fund (1) should be
repealed,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Tasks

Pursuant to Article 160 of the Treaty and Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
shall contribute towards the financing of assistance as defined
in Article 9 of that Regulation to promote economic and social
cohesion by correcting the main regional
imbalances and
participating in the development and conversion of regions.

To that end, the ERDF shall also contribute to promoting
sustainable development and the creation of sustainable jobs.

(1) OJ L 374, 31.12.1988, p. 15. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EEC) No 2083/93 (OJ L 193, 31.7.1993, p. 34).

Article 2

Scope

As part of its tasks as defined in Article 1, the ERDF shall

1.
contribute towards the financing of:

(a) productive investment to create and safeguard sustainable

jobs;

(b) investment in infrastructure:

(i) which,

in regions covered by Objective 1, helps to
increase the economic potential, development, struc-
tural adjustment and creation or maintenance of
sustainable jobs in those regions, including investment
in infrastructure contributing to the establishment and
development of trans-European networks in the areas
of transport, telecommunications and energy infrastruc-
tures taking into account the need to link to the central
regions of the Community regions suffering from a
structural handicap because of their insular, landlocked
or peripheral status;

(ii) which, in regions and areas covered by Objectives 1
and 2 or the Community initiatives referred to in
Article 20(1)(a) and (b) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/
1999, concerns the diversification of economic sites
and industrial areas suffering from decline, the renewal
of depressed urban areas and the revitalisation of and
improved access to rural areas and areas dependent on
fisheries; instruments in infrastructure where modern-
isation or regeneration is a prerequisite for the creation
or development of
job-creating economic activities,
including infrastructure links on which the develop-
ment of such activities depends;

(c) the development of endogenous potential by measures
local development and
initiatives and the activities of small and

which encourage and support
employment
medium-sized enterprises,

involving in particular:

(i) assistance towards services for enterprises, in particular
in the fields of management, market studies and
research and services common to several enterprises,

(ii) financing the transfer of

technology,

including in
particular the collection and dissemination of informa-
tion, common organisation between enterprises and
research establishments and financing the implementa-
tion of innovation in enterprises,

(iii) improvement of access by enterprises to finance and
loans,
appropriate
and
financing instruments, as referred to in Article 28 of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999,

developing

creating

by

(iv) direct aid to investment as defined in Article 28(3) of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 where no aid scheme
exists,

(v) the provision of infrastructure on a scale appropriate

to local and employment development,

(vi) aid for structures providing neighbourhood services to
create new jobs but excluding measures financed by
the European Social Fund (ESF);

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(d) technical assistance measures as referred to in the second
subparagraph of Article 2(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/
1999.

In the regions designated under Objective 1, the ERDF may
contribute towards the financing of investment in education
and health that is beneficial to the regions' structural adjust-
ment.

In application of paragraph 1, the financial contribution

2.
of the ERDF shall support,

inter alia, the following:

(a) the productive environment,

to increase
competitiveness and sustainable investment by firms, espe-
cially the small and medium-sized enterprises, and to make
regions more attractive, particularly by improving the
standard of their infrastructure;

in particular

(b) research and technological development with a view to
promoting the introduction of new technologies and inno-
vation and the strengthening of research and technological
development capacities contributing to regional develop-
ment;

(c) the development of the information society;

(d) the development of

investment,
including the protection of cultural and natural heritage,
provided that they are creating sustainable jobs;

tourism and cultural

(e) the protection and improvement of the environment,

in
particular taking account of the principles of precaution
and preventative action in support of economic develop-
ment, the clean and efficient utilisation of energy and the
development of renewable energy sources;

(f) equality between women and men in the field of employ-
ment, principally through the establishment of firms and
through infrastructure or services enabling the reconcilia-
tion of family and working life;

(g) transnational, cross-border and inter-regional cooperation

on sustainable regional and local development.

cooperation intended to encourage the harmonious, balanced
and sustainable development of the whole of the Community's
territory (‘Interreg’) as well as to the implementation of the
Community initiative for economic and social regeneration of
cities and urban neighbourhoods in crisis with a view to
promoting sustainable urban development (‘URBAN’).

2.
In accordance with Article 21(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999, the scope laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article
shall be extended by the decision on the Funds' contribution to
the financing of measures eligible under Regulations (EC) No
1784/1999 (1),
(EC) No 1257/1999 (2) and (EC) No 1263/
1999 (3) with a view to implementing all the measures set out
in the Community initiative programme concerned.

Article 4

Innovative measures

In accordance with Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No

1.
1260/1999, the ERDF may also contribute to financing:

(a) studies initiated by the Commission to identify and analyse
regional development problems and solutions, particularly
with a view to the harmonious, balanced and sustainable
development of the whole of the Community's territory,
including the European Spatial Development Perspective;

(b) pilot projects to identify or test new regional and local
development solutions with a view to their inclusion in
assistance after demonstration of their feasibility;

(c) exchanges of experience relating to innovation with the
turning to account and transferring experience

aim of
gained in the regional or local development field.

2.
In accordance with Article 22(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999, the scope laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article
shall be extended by the decision on the Funds' contribution to
the financing of measures eligible under Regulations (EC) No
1784/1999, (EC) No 1257/1999 and (EC) No 1263/1999 with
a view to implementing all the measures in the pilot project
concerned.

Article 5

Implementing rules

Any detailed implementing rules for this Regulation shall be
adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 48 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

Article 6

Repeal

Article 3

Community initiative

Regulation (EEC) No 4254/88 shall be repealed with effect
from 1 January 2000.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as
references to this Regulation.

1.
Pursuant to Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999,
the ERDF shall, in accordance with Article 21 of that Regula-
tion, contribute to the implementation of
the Community
transnational and inter-regional
initiative for cross-border,

(1) See page 5 of this Official Journal.
(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on
rural development by the European Guidance and

support
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80).

for

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 1263/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying
(OJ L 161,

down general provisions on the Structural Funds
26.6.1999, p. 54).

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Article 7

Review clause

On a proposal from the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council shall review this Regulation
by 31 December 2006.

They shall act on this proposal in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 162 of the Treaty.

Article 8

Transitional provisions

The transitional provisions referred to in Article 52 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 shall apply mutatis
mutandis to this Regulation.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal
of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 12 July 1999.

For the European Parliament

The President

J.M. GIL-ROBLES

For the Council

The President

S. NIINISTÖ