CELEX: 51985PC0836
Language: en
Date: 1985-12-31
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) INSTITUTING A COMMUNITY PROGRAMME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN LESS-FAVOURED REGIONS OF THE COMMUNITY BY IMPROVING ACCESS TO ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES (STAR PROGRAMME)

No C 356/66                         Official Journal of the European Communities                              31. 12. 85
             Proposal for a Council Regulation instituting a Community programme for the development
             of certain less-favoured regions of the Community by improving access to advanced telecom-
                                        munications services (STAR programme)
                                                   COM (85) 836 final
                                                      (85/C 356/13)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                       munity since such services will reduce their isolation,
                                                               will allow them to participate in the Community's
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European          technological breakthrough and will foster job creation;
Economic Community,
                                                               Whereas use of advanced telecommunications services
 Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1787/84          presupposes the establishment of the necessary infra-
 of 19 June 1984 on the European Regional Development          structures such as major links for the regions to the
Fund(1), and in particular Article 7 (4) thereof,              new networks, digitalization to promote more rapid
                                                               introduction of integrated-services digital networks, the
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,            laying of superimposed networks notably in the field
                                                               of high-speed data transmission, and the establishment
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-           and development of cellular radio infrastructures com-
 ment,                                                         patible with the development of a Community system;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
 Social Committee,                                             Whereas the establishment of modern telecommuni-
                                                               cations infrastructures must be accompanied by meas-
                                                               ures to promote the supply of, and the demand for,
Whereas Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 1787/84,              advanced services facilitating optimum use of those
 hereinafter referred to as the Fund Regulation, provides      infrastructures; whereas such promotion includes aid
 for participation by the Fund in Community pro-               for the preparation of regional or local programmes
grammes the purpose of which is to help in solving             for the coordinated use of telecommunication systems,
 serious problems affecting the socio-economic situation       advisory and publicity measures, demonstration pro-
 in one or more regions and which are designed to              jects, aid to promote the take-up of the services avail-
provide a better link between the Community's objec-           able (notably by small and medium-sized enterprises by
tives for the structural development or conversion of          making it easier for them to purchase terminals and by
regions and the objectives of other Community policies;        providing them with the requisite technical assistance),
                                                               service centres, experimental tele-commuting projects
Whereas the regions in Greece and Ireland, the Mezzo-          and the development of regional specialized infor-
giorno, Northern Ireland, Corsica and the French over-         mation services;
seas departments, and regions in Spain and Portugal
have to contend with particularly serious economic
                                                               Whereas the Member States concerned have communi-
problems; whereas the level of telecommunications ser-
                                                               cated the necessary information to the Commission;
vices, especially advanced services intended for the pro-
ductive sector in those regions is inadequate; whereas
this shortcoming has an adverse effect not only on their       Whereas, by helping the least-favoured regions to
 socio-economic situation but also on their development        exploit the new telecommunications potential, the
 prospects;                                                    Community programme contributes to the furtherance
                                                               of both regional development objectives and the Com-
Whereas, on 29 and 30 March 1985, the European                 munity's objectives in the field of telecommunications;
 Council endorsed objectives aimed at strengthening the        whereas the level of Community participation must
 technological base and competitiveness of Community           therefore be the maximum permissible under the Fund
 industry; whereas those objectives include achieving a        Regulation and whereas, at the same time, the pro-
 breakthrough in telecommunications; whereas one of            gramme is given priority in the management of Fund
 the lines of action adopted on 17 December 1984 by            resources;
the Council of Ministers in this field is designed to
ensure improved access for less-favoured regions of            Whereas some of the regions concerned qualify for
the Community to the benefits of the development of            the measures laid down in Council Regulation (EEC)
 advanced services and networks;                               No 2088/85 of 23 July 1985 concerning the integrated
                                                               Mediterranean programmes(5), which permits Com-
                                                               munity financing over and above the ceilings fixed by
Whereas fuller integration of the least-favoured regions
into telecommunications networks and appropriate use           the provisions governing the Community's Funds;
by them of advanced telecommunications services are
necessary if they are to narrow the economic develop-          Whereas Community assistance must be provided in
ment gap separating them from the rest of the Com-             the form of multiannual programmes drawn up by
(!) OJ No L 169, 28. 6. 1984, p. 1.                            (2) OJ No L 197, 27. 7. 1985, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- 31. 12. 85                              Official Journal of the European Communities                          No C 356/67
the Member States concerned in consultation with the              (c) in Greece: all regions, including the prefecture of
Commission and whereas it is for the Commission, in                    Attiki;
adopting those programmes to ensure that the oper-
ations proposed therein are in keeping with this Regu-            (d) in Ireland: all regions;
lation,
                                                                  (e) in Italy: the regions and zones of the Mezzogiorno;
                                                                  (f)  in Portugal: ...(*);
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                                                  (g) in the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland.
                            Article 1
A .Community programme within the meaning of
Article 7 of the Fund Regulation that contributes to the
development of certain less-favoured regions of the                                         Article 4
Community by improving access to advanced telecom-
munications services is hereby established.
                                                                   The Fund may participate, under the Community pro-
                            Article 2                              gramme, in the following operations:
The purpose of the Community programme shall be to                 1. Establishment of the basic equipment needed for
contribute to strengthening the economic base in the                  advanced telecommunications services in order:
regions concerned by improving the supply of advanced
telecommunications services, to foster job creation and
to help raise technological standards in those regions.               (a) to integrate the less-favoured regions into the
To this end, the programme shall provide for the                           new advanced telecommunications networks
implementation of a series of consistent, multiannual                      being set up across the Community, including,
measures establishing modern telecommunications                            where appropriate, the extension of the broad-
infrastructures and promoting the supply of, and the                       band transnational digital network planned for
demand for, advanced telecommunications services.                          the Community, and to provide major telecom-
                                                                           munication links. Investment projects may
The Community programme shall thereby seek to pro-                         include land-based (including submarine) sys-
vide a better link between the Community's objectives                      tems, notably those using optical fibres, and
for the structural development of regions and the objec-                   satellite systems;
tives of Community telecommunications policy.
                                                                      (b) to encourage digitalization with a view to more
                                                                           rapid introduction of integrated-services digital
                            Article 3                                      networks for firms and consumers. Investment
                                                                           projects may include the digitalization of links
1. The        Community         programme      shall   concern             to final users, additional work on local switch-
regions:                                                                   es, the possible introduction of the signalling
                                                                           systems between switches that are essential to
(a) which face a particularly difficult economic situ-                     integrated-services digital networks and, where
      ation compared with the Community as a whole;                        appropriate, more rapid digitalization of trans-
 (b) which are located at the periphery of the Com-                        mission lines and switching centres;
      munity or on an island;
                                                                      (c) to set in place, pending the introduction of
(c) in which the supply of telecommunications ser-                         integrated-services digital networks, superim-
      vices, notably advanced services for the productive                  posed networks essential to the provision of
      sector, is inadequate;                                               advanced telecommunications services, notably
(d) which are normally covered by a national regional                      in the field of data transmission. Investment
      aid scheme.                                                          projects may include establishment of the
                                                                           major transmission lines and provision of
2.     The regions satisfying the conditions set out in                    equipment enabling the public to use the ser-
paragraph 1 are:                                                           vice, and particularly the transformation of
                                                                           pilot schemes already financed by the Com-
 (a) in Spain: ...(1);                                                     munity into fully-operational systems;
 (b) in France: Corsica and the overseas departments;
                                                                      (d) to establish and develop cellular radio infra-
(*) The regions will be determined by the Commission once the
                                                                           structures compatible with the development of
    regional State aid scheme submitted by the Member State                a Community system;
    under Articles 92 and 93 of the EEC Treaty has been declared
    compatible with the common market pursuant to Article 92          (e) feasibility studies relating to the investment
    of the Treaty.                                                         projects specified in (a) to (d).
 ---pagebreak--- No C 356/68                         Official Journal of the European Communities                              31. 12. 85
2. Promotion of the supply of, and the demand for,                       (ii) providing common services for two or
   advanced telecommunications services. The follow-                          more SMEs;
   ing operations shall be eligible under this heading:
                                                                   (f)  implementation of experimental tele-commut-
   (a) preparation of local or regional programmes                      ing projects;
        for the coordinated use of advanced telecom-
        munications systems. This shall include techni-            (g) the provision of regional services using compu-
        cal and economic feasibility studies on the pro-                terized telecommunications facilities in the
        vision of new telecommunications services to                    sphere of specialized information, including
        users, notably small and medium-sized enter-                    information compiled at Community level and
        prises (SMEs) in the industrial and service sec-                of particular interest to certain users, notably
        tors, including tourism; such studies shall form                SMEs, including in the field of tourism.
        part of broader development strategies for
        specific areas, sectors or groups of firms;
   (b) measures to promote the use of advanced tele-
        communications services. Such measures shall                                     Article 5
        include publicity and information campaigns
        aimed at making potential users aware of the
        existence and advantages of modern telecom-           The Community programme shall be financed jointly
        munications services, either through conven-           by the Member State concerned and the Community.
        tional marketing channels or by way of sem-           Assistance from the Fund, which may not exceed 55 %
        inars, courses and briefings. Priority shall be        of the total public expenditure taken into account in the
        given to measures for SMEs, including in the           programme, shall be provided from the appropriations
        field of tourism and in other sectors with a           entered for this purpose in the general budget of the
        high development potential;                           European Communities. The Community contribution
                                                               shall be as follows:
   (c) measures to demonstrate, by means of specific
        integrated applications, the advantages of             1. Operations relating to the basic equipment referred
        using advanced telecommunications services.                to in Article 4(1):
        Such programmes shall include demonstration
        projects for SMEs, including in the field of
        tourism and in other sectors with a high devel-            (a) infrastructure investment projects financed
        opment potential;                                               wholly or partly by public authorities or by an
                                                                        equivalent body responsible for the implemen-
                                                                        tation of infrastructure projects: 55 % of the
   (d) aid to encourage individual SMEs or groups                       total public expenditure borne by a public
        of SMEs to use advanced telecommunications                      authority or equivalent body;
        services.
                                                                   (b) investment projects in the industrial, craft
        Such aid may take the form of:                                  industry and service sectors: 50 % of the public
                                                                        expenditure resulting from the grant of invest-
          (i) expert studies on the potential economies                 ment aid;
              to be achieved through greater use of
              advanced telecommunications services,
              including computerized services available            (c) feasibility studies: either 70 % of their cost or
              via data-transmission networks;                           50 % of the public expenditure resulting from
                                                                        the granting of aid in respect of them.
         (ii) if the studies referred to in (i) so justify,
               equipment (such as terminals and
               modems) giving users access to advanced             Promotion of the supply of, and the demand for,
               telecommunications services;                        advanced telecommunications services:
                                                                   (a) studies relating to the preparation of local or
   (e) establishment and development of telecom-                        regional programmes referred to in Arti-
        munications service centres, outside the main                   cle 4 (2)(a): 50 % of public expenditure;
        urban areas, with a view to:
         (i) providing      user    services,    including         (b) measures to promote the use of advanced tele-
              advanced data-transmission and video-                     communications services referred to in Arti-
              communication services, notably in sparse-                cle 4(2)(b): aid covering 50% of the cost of
              ly populated areas;                                       publicity and information campaigns;
 ---pagebreak---  31. 12. 85                              Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 356/69
      (c) demonstration measures referred to in Article                      the Fund Regulation or with other forms of
           4 (2)(c): 50 % of public expenditure;                             Community assistance, except in the forms
                                                                             expressly provided for by the Council, including
                                                                             in Regulation (EEC) No 2088/85;
      (d) operations to encourage investment in SMEs
           referred to in Article 4 (2)(d):                              (b) In addition, the aids referred to in
                                                                              Article 5 (2) (d), (e), (f) and (g) may not have
             (i) expert studies: either 70 % of their cost or                 the effect of reducing the share of expenditure
                 50 % of the public expenditure resulting                     met by recipient businesses to less than 20%
                  from the granting of aid in respect of them;                of total expenditure.
            (ii) equipment: 50 % of the public expenditure
                 resulting from the grant of investment aid;
                                                                                               Article 7
      (e) establishment and development of telecom-                 The component authorities in each of the Member
           munications services centres referred to in              States concerned shall, in consultation with the Com-
           Article 4(2) (e):                                        mission, draw up within a period of six months from
                                                                    the entry into force of this Regulation an intervention
             (i) operations relating to user service centres:       programme satisfying the following conditions:
                 50 % of the public expenditure resulting
                 from the granting of aid for equipment             — it shall contain the particulars referred to in the
                 associated with telecommunications;                    Annex to this Regulation,
           (ii) for operations relating to common ser-
                 vices: 50 % of the public expenditure              — it shall fall within the framework of the regional
                 resulting from the granting of aid;                    development programmes referred to in Article 2 (3)
                                                                        of the Fund Regulation,
     (f)   implementation of experimental tele-commut-             — an appropriate share of the Fund's contribution
           ing projects referred to in Article 4 (2)(f):                shall be earmarked for the least-favoured regions
                                                                        covered by the programme,
             (i) feasibility studies: either 70 % of their cost
                 or 50 % of the public expenditure resulting       — the programme shall comprise regional or local
                 from the granting of aid;                              and, where appropriate, sectoral sub-programmes
                                                                        depending on the operations prescribed in Arti-
           (ii) project implementation: 50 % of the public              cle 4; the sub-programmes shall be extensive enough
                 expenditure resulting from the granting of             to warrant implementation of the promotional
                 aid;                                                   measures provided for in Article 4 (2),
                                                                   — the Fund's contribution to the promotional meas-
     (g) provision of regional services in the sphere of                ures provided for in Article 4(2) may not be less
          specialized information referred to in                        than 10 % of the total contribution to the pro-
          Article 4(2)(g):'aid covering part of business               gramme,
          expenditure on the development and operation
          of such services; The aid shall be degressive            — the programme shall cover projects that are consist-
          and shall be granted for three years. It shall               ent with the Community's objectives regarding tele-
          cover 70 % of expenditure in the first year and              communications and information technology stan-
          shall not exceed 50 % of total expenditure over              dards, particularly in view of the progress made
          the three-year period.                                       towards these objectives by the European Confer-
                                                                       ence of Postal and Telecommunications adminis-
                                                                       trations (CEPT) and the European Committee for
                                                                       Standardization (CEN)/European Committee for
                                                                       Electro-technical Standardization (Cenelec).
                             Article 6
1. All or part of the aid may be in the form of a capital                                     Article 8
    grant or an interest subsidy.
                                                                   1. The duration of the programme shall be five years
                                                                   from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.
2. The following shall be eligible for Fund assistance
    in respect of operations referred to in Article 5:
    public authorities, local and regional authorities,            2.     The intervention programme shall be submitted
    other bodies, businesses or individuals.                       to the Commission for adoption as a programme agree-
                                                                   ment in accordance with Article 13 (1) of the Fund
                                                                   Regulation. The Commission shall establish that the
3 (a) Aid granted under the Community programme                    programme is compatible with Article 44 of the Fund
         shall not be combined with aid provided for in            Regulation.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 356/70                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                           31. 12. 85
3.    In addition to publication of the decisions con-                       adopting the programme agreement referred to in
cerning the grant of Fund assistance for the programme,                      Article 8(2).
the programme adopted shall be published by the Com-
mission for information purposes.                                                                       A t l 1f)
                                                                             This Regulation shall enter into force on the day follow-
                                    .                                         ing its publication in the Official Journal of the Euro-
                               r l  e
                                                                             pean Communities.
The amount of Fund assistance may not exceed                                 This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
the amount laid down by the Commission when                                  directly applicable in all Member States.
                                                                       Annex
             The intervention programme, broken down, where appropriate, by region and comprising the particulars
             listed in Article 8 of the Fund Regulation and some further particulars, shall be drawn up on the basis of the
             following outline:
             1. General information
                  (a) a concise analysis of the situation and prospects in the telecommunications field and the interrelation-
                       ship between them and the socio-economic situation;
                  (b) a brief description of measures adopted to meet requirements in the field of telecommunications
                       services, indicating the bodies responsible;
                  (c) the amount of expenditure incurred in previous years and that forecast for the period covered by
                       the programme.
             2. Basic equipment for the provision of advanced telecommunications services
                  (a) an analysis of the situation and prospects in each of the fields mentioned in Article 4 (1) and a
                       description of the measures already adopted and, where appropriate,, existing aid schemes indicating
                       the average amount of public expenditure involved each year;
                  (b) in relation to the operations referred to in Article 4 (1):
                         (i) forecasts for investment projects in new international telecommunications networks; an indi-
                             cation of the main telecommunication links planned; information concerning the systems to be
                             used (land-based, satellite, etc.); location of projects;
                        (ii) forecasts for investment projects in digitalization; indication of the fields involved: connections
                             to users, local switches, signalling systems between switches, transmission lines, switching
                             centres; details of how such work ties in with the introduction of integrated-services digital
                             networks; location of projects;
                       (iii) forecasts for investment projects associated with the establishment of superimposed networks,
                             notably in the field of high-speed data transmission; indication of the major transmission lines
                             and the equipment providing the public with access to these services; location of projects;
                       (iv) forecasts for investment projects involving the establishment and development of cellular radio
                             infrastructures; details as to the compatibility of such infrastructures with the development of a
                             Community system; location of projects;
                        (v) forecasts relating to feasibility studies;
                       (vi) expected results, in quantified form, of the investments specified in (i) to (v), in terms of
                             economic activity, job creation and technology transfers.
            3. Promotion of the supply of, and the demand for, advanced services
                 (a) an analysis of the situation and needs in these fields and a description of feasibility studies,
                        surveys or information campaigns undertaken and of existing aid schemes for the use of advanced
                        telecommunications services, indicating the average amount of public expenditure involved each
                        year;
 ---pagebreak--- 31. 12. 85                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 356/71
              (b) operations referred to in Article 4 (2):
                      (i) forecasts relating to the preparation of regional or local programmes for the coordinated use
                          of advanced telecommunications systems; forecasts for feasibility studies; indication of the
                          broader development strategies of which such studies form part;
                     (ii) forecasts relating to the promotion of the use of advanced services; details of measures;
                          indication of the sectors concerned;
                    (iii) forecasts relating to demonstration projects; indication of the sectors concerned;
                    (iv) forecasts relating to aids for SMEs in respect of equipment and expert studies; details of aid
                          schemes to be set up;
                     (v) forecasts relating to telecommunications service centres; location of centres; population and
                          sectors served;
                    (vi) forecasts relating to experimental tele-commuting projects; location of projects; sectors con-
                          cerned; proposed evaluation methods;
                   (vii) forecasts relating to regional specialized-information services; indication of data available
                          including data compiled at Community level; indication of the sectors concerned;
                  (viii) expected results, in quantified form, of the various measures and operations specified in (i) to
                          (vii), in terms of economic activity, job creation and technology transfers.
           4. The programme as a whole
              (a) summary of objectives;
              (b) timetable;
              (c) estimates of the volume of public expenditure connected with the programme's implementation,
                  including an annual breakdown of such expenditure for each of the operations envisaged and a clear
                  indication of the various national and Community sources of finance;
              (d) in so far as this information has not been identified with sufficient accuracy in the regional
                  development programme, a description of the existing or future public measures which it is intended
                  to implement alongside the special programme;
              (e) an indication of the authorities or bodies responsible for carrying out the various parts of the
                  programme and the coordination arrangements;
              (f) details of the Commission's involvement in the programme follow-up;
              (g) arrangements for publicizing ERDF aid, the purpose being to make potential beneficiaries and trade
                  and industry aware of the opportunities offered by the programme and of the role played by the
                  Community.