CELEX: 51988PC0144
Language: en
Date: 1988-03-23
Title: AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE TASKS OF THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND ON COORDINATION OF THEIR ACTIVITIES BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND WITH THE OPERATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK AND THE OTHER EXISTING FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

N o C 151/4                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                  9. 6. 88
                                                             II
                                                     (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
             Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the tasks of the structural Funds and
             their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the
             operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (')
                                                    COM(88) 144 final
             (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 23 March 1988)
                                                       (88/C 151/05)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                         adjustment of regions whose development is lagging
                                                                 behind and in the conversion of declining industrial
                                                                 regions;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130d
thereof,
                                                                 Whereas, to that end, Article 130d of the Treaty
                                                                 provides for a comprehensive proposal the purpose of
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,               which will be to make such amendments to the structure
                                                                 and operational rules of the European Agricultural
                                                                 Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guidance Section
Having regard      to   the   opinion  of   the   European       (EAGGF Guidance Section), the European Social Fund
Parliament,                                                      (ESF) and the ERDF as are necessary to clarify and
                                                                 rationalize their tasks in order to contribute to the
                                                                 achievement of the objectives set out in Articles 130a and
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                 130c of the Treaty, to increase their efficiency and to
Social Committee,                                                coordinate their activities between themselves and with
                                                                 the operations of the existing financial instruments;
Whereas Article 130a of the Treaty provides for the
Community to develop and pursue its actions leading to
the strengthening of its economic and social cohesion            Whereas Community operations under the structural
and in particular for it to aim at reducing disparities          Funds, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the
between the various regions and the backwardness of the          other existing financial instruments must be in support of
least-favoured regions;                                          the objectives set out in Articles 130a and 130c;
Whereas Article 130c states that the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) is intended to help redress              Whereas the action taken through the structural Funds,
the principal regional imbalances in the Community               the EIB and the other existing financial instruments, the
through participating in the development and structural          coordination of Member States' economic and social
                                                                 policies, the coordination of national regional policies
(*) OJ No C 245, 12. 9. 1987, p. 3.                              and of physical planning policies, the coordination of
 ---pagebreak--- 9. 6. 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 151/5
national schemes of assistance and other measures taken           objectives; whereas it is necessary in particular to define
with a view to implementing the common policies and               the new tasks of the ESF;
the internal market form part of a series of measures
aimed at strengthening economic and social cohesion;              Whereas achievement of the priority objective of
whereas the Commission is called upon to make appro-              ensuring the structural adjustment of the less-developed
priate proposals in this regard;                                  regions necessitates a significant concentration of the
                                                                  resources of the Community's structural Funds on that
                                                                  objective;
Whereas it is necessary, in order to achieve the aim set
by Article 130d, to direct all Community activity in this         Whereas the regions and individuals in the Community
field towards attainment of priority objectives which are         eligible for Community structural assistance in
clearly defined in the light of that aim;
                                                                  connection with the various priority objectives should be
                                                                  determined;
Whereas the European Council, with a view to strength-
                                                                  Whereas an initial list should be drawn up of the less-
ening the impact of Community structural measures, is
                                                                  developed regions; whereas this list should comprise
looking to increase the commitment appropriations for
                                                                  administrative level NUTS II regions where per capita
all the structural Funds (7 700 million ECU in 1988) by
                                                                  G D P measured in terms of purchasing power parity is
1 300 million ECU a year (at 1988 prices) over the
                                                                  less than 75 % of the Community average, and other
period 1989 to 92 to 12 900 million ECU (at 1988
                                                                  regions whose inclusion is justified by special circum-
prices) in 1992;
                                                                  stances;
                                                                  Whereas it is necessary to draw up criteria for defining
Whereas it is necessary to specify which Funds are to
                                                                  the declining industrial areas; whereas, moreover,
contribute — and to what extent and under what
                                                                  Community action could, in order to ensure effective
conditions they are to do so — to achievement of each
                                                                  concentration of assistance, cover between 12 % and
of the priority objectives and to determine the conditions
                                                                  15 % of the Community population living outside the
under which the EIB and other existing Community
                                                                  less-developed regions;
financial instruments can make their contributions,
particularly in conjunction with operations under the
Funds,                                                            Whereas Community action is intended to be
                                                                  complementary to action by the Member States;
                                                                  whereas, in order to impart value added to their own
Whereas the ERDF is the main instrument for achieving             initiatives at the appropriate territorial level, close
the objective of ensuring the development and structural          consultations should be instituted between              the
                                                                  Commission, the national authorities and the competent
adjustment of regions whose development is lagging
                                                                  authorities designated by the Member State concerned at
behind and whereas it plays a central role in the
                                                                  regional, local or other level, with each party acting as a
conversion of regions, frontier regions and parts of
                                                                  partner in the pursuit of a common goal;
regions (including employment areas and urban
communities) seriously affected by industrial decline;
                                                                  Whereas it is necessary to specify the principal forms of
                                                                  structural assistance to be provided by the Community
Whereas the ESF, by the support it gives to economic              for the purposes of the objectives set out in Articles 130a
and social cohesion, is of decisive importance in the             and 130c of the Treaty; whereas those forms of
promotion of consistent employment policies in the                assistance must add to the effectiveness of the measures
Member States and in the Community;                               taken by it and at the same time satisfy the needs of the
                                                                  different situations that may arise;
Whereas the EAGGF Guidance Section is the main                    Whereas the main emphasis must be placed on assistance
instrument for financing the adjustment of agricultural           in the form of multiannual operational programmes;
structures and the development of rural areas with a view
to reform of the common agricultural policy;                      Whereas, in order to secure joint action between one or
                                                                  more Funds, the EIB and one or more of the other
                                                                  existing financial instruments, those programmes may be
Whereas the operations of the Funds, the EIB and the              drawn up and implemented on the basis of an integrated
other financial instruments must underpin implemen-               approach to the measures involved;
tation of a policy of rural development;
                                                                  Whereas mechanisms should be established for varying
                                                                  Community assistance in line with the particular features
Whereas the main tasks of the Funds must be defined so            of the measures to be supported and in the light of the
as to specify the broad categories of tasks assigned to           context in which they are to be carried out and the
each of them for the purpose of achieving the priority            financing capacity of the Member State concerned;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 151/6                              Official Journal of the          Communities                                9. 6. 88
Whereas, in implementing this Regulation, it is necessary                                 Article 2
to establish procedures for ensuring close cooperation
                                                                                            Means
between the Commission and the national, regional and
local authorities in Member States;                             1.     The structural Funds (the European Agricultural
                                                                Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guidance Section, here-
Whereas it is necessary to establish effective methods of       inafter referred to as the 'EAGGF Guidance Section';
monitoring, assessing and carrying out checks in respect        the European Social Fund, hereinafter referred to as the
of Community structural operations, based on objective          'ESF'; the European Regional Development Fund, here-
criteria, and to ensure that those methods are adapted to       inafter referred to as the 'ERDF') shall contribute, each
the tasks of the different Funds as specified in this Regu-     according to the specific provisions governing its oper-
lation;                                                         ations, to the attainment of Objectives Nos 1 to 5 on the
                                                                basis of the breakdown given below:
Whereas it is necessary to lay down in subsequent
implementing legislation the detailed rules governing the       — Objective No 1: ERDF, ESF, EAGGF Guidance
individual Funds, together with the arrangements for the             Section,
coordination and joint deployment of the Community's
various structural Funds and instruments, and the               — Objective N o 2: ERDF, ESF,
necessary transitional provisions;
                                                                — Objective No 3: ESF,
Whereas, while performing the tasks assigned to it by
Articles 129 and 130 of the Treaty, the EIB is to               — Objective N o 4: ESF,
cooperate in achieving the objectives set out in this
Regulation in accordance with the procedures laid down          — Objective No 5(a): EAGGF Guidance Section;
in its Statute,                                                      5(b): EAGGF Guidance Section, ESF, ERDF.
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                    2.     The EIB, while performing the tasks assigned to it
                                                                by Articles 129 and 130 of the Treaty, shall cooperate in
                                                                achieving the objectives set out in Article 1 in accordance
      I. Objectives and tasks of the structural Funds           with the procedures laid down in its Statute.
                          Article 1                             3.     The other existing financial instruments may
                          Objectives                            contribute, each according to the specific provisions
                                                                governing its operations, to any measure supported by
Community operations under the structural Funds, the            one or more of the structural Funds in connection with
European Investment Bank (hereinafter referred to as the        one of the abovementioned five objectives. Where appro-
'EIB') and other existing financial instruments shall           priate, the Commission shall take measures to enable
support the achievement of the general objectives set out       these instruments to make a better contribution to the
in Articles 130a and 130c of the Treaty by contributing         objectives set out in Article 1.
to the attainment of five priority objectives:
 1. promoting the development and structural adjustment                                   Article 3
    of the less-developed regions (hereinafter referred to
    as 'Objective No 1');                                                             Tasks of the Funds
                                                                 1.    The ERDF shall perform the tasks entrusted to it
2. converting the regions, frontier regions or parts of         by Article 130c of the Treaty by providing support in
    regions (including employment areas and urban               particular for:
    communities) seriously affected by industrial decline
    (hereinafter referred to as 'Objective No 2');               (a) productive investment;
3. combating long-term unemployment               (hereinafter
                                                                 (b) the creation or modernization of infrastructures
    referred to as 'Objective N o 3');
                                                                      essential to the development or conversion of the
                                                                     regions, frontier regions or parts of regions,
4. facilitating the occupational integration of young
                                                                      including employment areas and urban communities;
    people (hereinafter referred to as 'Objective No 4');
 5. with a view to reform of the common agricultural             (c) measures to exploit the potential for internally
    policy:                                                           generated development of the regions, frontier
                                                                      regions or parts of regions, including employment
    (a) speeding up the        adjustment    of   agricultural
                                                                      areas and urban communities;
         structures, and
    (b) promoting the development of rural areas                 (d) studies or pilot schemes concerning physical planning
    (hereinafter referred to as 'Objectives No 5(a) and               at Community level, especially where frontier areas
    N o 5(b)').                                                       of Member States are involved.
 ---pagebreak--- 9. 6. 88                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                 N o C 151/7
2.     In connection with the task assigned to it by Article         The implementing decisions referred to in this Article
 123 of the Treaty, the ESF shall support measures,                  shall also lay down the transitional provisions concerning
notably through vocational training and employment                   the integrated approaches adopted under existing rules.
aids, aimed at:
(a) placing young people in jobs and combating long-                 6.    The implementing decisions referred to in para-
     term unemployment;                                              graphs 4 and 5 may provide for Community financing of
                                                                     operations permitting the exchange of information
(b) providing workers with the vocational skills that                between Member States based on the assessment of oper-
     promote stability of employment;                                ational programmes and of innovative operations
                                                                     involving a number of Member States.
(c) expanding employment opportunities.
Such support shall take account of labour-market                             II. Arrangements for structural operations
requirements and of the need for a consistent selection
of the priorities laid down in Community and national
employment policies.
                                                                                               Article 4
                                                                             Complementary, partnership, technical assistance
3.     In line with the priorities set out in Article 39 of the
Treaty in particular, assistance under the EAGGF                     1.    Community operations shall be such as to
Guidance Section shall be geared to the following tasks:             complement corresponding national operations. They
                                                                     shall be established through close consultations between
(a) strengthening       and      reorganizing       agricultural     the Commission, the Member State concerned and the
     structures, including those for the marketing and               competent authorities designated by the latter at
     processing of agricultural and fishery products,                regional, local or other level, with each party acting as a
     especially with a view to reform of the Community's            partner in pursuit of a common goal. These consultations
     common agricultural policy;                                     are hereinafter referred to as the 'partnership'. The part-
                                                                     nership shall cover the preparation, financing, moni-
                                                                     toring and assessment of operations.
(b) converting agricultural production and fostering the
     development of supplementary activities for farmers
     in rural areas;
                                                                     2.    Acting in accordance with the provisions of this
                                                                     Regulation and with the provisions referred to in Article
(c) ensuring a fair standard of living for farmers;                  3 (4) and (5), the Commission shall take the steps and
                                                                     measures necessary to ensure that Community operations
(d) helping to develop the social fabric of rural areas, to          are in support of the objectives set out in Article 1 and
     safeguard the environment, to preserve the                      impart to national initiatives the necessary value added.
     countryside, (among other things by securing the
     conversation of natural agricultural resources) and to
     offset the effects of natural handicaps on agriculture.         3.    Within the framework of the partnership, the
                                                                     Commission may, in accordance with procedures laid
4.     The specific provisions governing operations under            down in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4),
each structural Fund shall be laid down in the                      contribute to the preparation, implementation and adap-
implementing decisions adopted pursuant to Article 43,               tation of operations by financing preparatory studies and
127 or 130e of the Treaty. They shall establish in                  technical assistance operations locally, in agreement with
particular the procedures for providing assistance in one           the Member State concerned or with the authorities
of the forms defined in Article 5 (2), the conditions of             referred to in paragraph 1.
eligibility and the rates of assistance. Without prejudice
to paragraph 5, they shall also establish the arrangements
for the monitoring, assessment, financial management                 4.    For each objective, tasks shall be shared between
and checking of measures and the transitional provisions             the Commission and the Member State during the prepa-
necessary in relation to existing rules.                             ration of operations in accordance with Articles 8 to 11.
5.     The Council, acting on the basis of Article 43, 127
or 130e of the Treaty, shall adopt the provisions                                              Article 5
necessary for ensuring coordination between the
                                                                                          Forms of assistance
different Funds, on the one hand, and between them and
the EIB and the other existing financial instruments, on             1.    Financial assistance under the structural Funds, the
the other. The Commission and the EIB shall establish                EIB and the other existing Community financial
by mutual agreement the practical arrangements for                   instruments shall be provided in a variety of forms that
coordinating the operations.                                         reflect the nature of the operations to be carried out.
 ---pagebreak---  N o C 151/8                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                     9. 6. 88
 2.     In the case of the structural Funds, financial                                         Article 6
 assistance shall be provided in one of the following
forms:                                                                                Monitoring and assessment
                                                                    1.    Community operations shall be monitored to
 (a) part-financing of operational programmes;                      ensure that the commitments entered into as part of the
                                                                    objectives set out in Articles 130a and 130c of the Treaty
 (b) part-financing of an aid scheme;                               are effectively honoured. Such monitoring shall, where
                                                                    necessary, make it possible to adjust operations in line
                                                                    with requirements arising during implementation.
 (c) provision of global grants, as a general rule managed
      by    an    intermediary      (regional     development       2.    In order to gauge their effectiveness, Community
      corporation or other) and allocated by it in the form         structural operations shall be the subject of an ex ante
      of individual grants to final beneficiaries;                  and an ex post assessment designed to highlight their
                                                                    economic impact and to analyse their effects on specific
(d) part-financing of major projects;                               structural problems.
                                                                    3.    The procedures for monitoring and assessing
(e) support for technical assistance or studies in prepa-
                                                                    Community operations shall be established by the
      ration for operations.
                                                                   provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5) and, in the
                                                                    case of the EIB, in the manner provided for in its
Acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the                 Statute.
Commission and in cooperation with the European
Parliament, the Council may introduce other forms of                                          Article 7
assistance.
                                                                                       Compatibility and checks
3.     In the case of the EIB and the other existing                1.    Measures financed by the structural Funds or
financial instruments, each observing its own specific             receiving assistance from the EIB or from another
rules, financial assistance shall be provided in one of the        existing financial instrument shall be in keeping with the
following forms:                                                   provisions of the Treaty, with the instruments adopted
                                                                   pursuant to the latter and with the objectives of
— loans or other forms           of part-financing     specific    Community policies, notably with regard to the rules on
     investment projects,                                          competition, the award of public contracts and
                                                                   protection of the environment.
— global loans,                                                    2.     Without prejudice to the provisions of the Financial
                                                                   Regulation, the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and
— part-financing of technical assistance or of studies in          (5) shall lay down harmonized rules for strengthening
     preparation for operations,                                   checks on structural operations. They shall be adjusted
                                                                   to reflect the special nature of the financial operations
— guarantees.                                                      concerned. The procedures for carrying out checks on
                                                                   operations undertaken by the EIB are set out in its
                                                                   Statute.
4.     Community assistance combines in an appropriate
way assistance in the form of grants and loans referred
to in paragraphs 2 and 3 in order to maximize the                        III. Provisions relating to the specific objectives
stimulus provided by the budgetary resources deployed,
making use of financial engineering techniques.                                               Article 8
                                                                                           Objective No 1
5.     An operational programme within the meaning of               1.    The regions concerned by Objective N o 1 are
paragraph 2 (a) shall consist in a series of consistent            regions at NUTS (x) level II whose per capita GDP, on
multiannual measures which may be implemented                      the basis of the figures for the last three years, is less
through recourse to one or more Funds, to one or more              than 75 % of the Community average.
of the other existing financial instruments, and to the
EIB.                                                               They also include Northern Ireland, the French overseas
                                                                   departments and other regions whose per capita G D P is
                                                                   close to that of the regions referred to in the first
Where an operational programme involves operations                 subparagraph and which have to be included within the
under more than one Fund and/or more than one other                scope of Objective N o 1 for special reasons.
financial instrument, it may be implemented in the form
of an integrated approach the details of which shall be            2.     An initial list of regions concerned by Objective
determined by the provisions referred to in Article 3 (5).         N o 1 is given in the Annex.
Operational programmes shall be undertaken on the
                                                                   (*) Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes
initiative of the Member States or of the Commission in                 (NUTS). See Eurostat, 'Statistiques Rapides des Regions',
agreement with the Member State concerned.                             25 August 1986.
 ---pagebreak--- 9. 6. 88                                Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 151/9
3.     The Council, acting by qualified majority on a              6.     The arrangements for the preparation and
proposal from the Commission and in consultation with              submission of regional development plans and for the
the European Parliament, shall review the list within five         Community support frameworks shall be laid down in
years of the date of entry into force of this Regulation.          the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
4.     The Member States concerned by the list referred
to in paragraph 1 shall submit to the Commission their             7.     Assistance in respect of Objective N o 1 shall be
regional development plans. These shall include in                 predominantly in the form of operational programmes.
particular:
— a description of the regional development priorities             8.     With a view to facilitating the programming of
    selected and of the corresponding operations,                  operations in the regions concerned, the Commission
                                                                   shall, as a guide, share out between Member States for a
— an indication of the use to be made of assistance                period of five years 75 % of the commitment appropri-
    available under the Funds, the EIB and the other               ations allocated to the ERDF for the purposes of
    financial instruments in implementing the plans.               Objective No 1. This share-out shall be based on socio-
                                                                   economic criteria typifying the structural backwardness
Where appropriate, the regional development plans shall            of the regions. The resources not shared out in this way
be supplemented, at the Commission's request or on the             shall be used by the Commission, in support of
initiative of the Member States, by other relevant infor-          attainment of Objective No 1, to promote operations of
mation relating in particular to operations to be carried          significant interest to the Community.
out at national, sectoral or interregional level.
Member States shall also submit the plans referred to in           The Member States concerned and the Commission
Article 10 (2) and the operations referred to in Article           shall, as part of their consultations, check on the quality
11 (1) for the regions concerned, including the data               and pace of implementation of the proposed operations.
relating to the operations under Article 11 (1), which
under Community rules constitute rights for the benefi-
ciaries.                                                           9.     The operations eligible for assistance under the
                                                                   various Funds contributing to attainment of Objective
5.     The Commission shall examine the proposed plans             N o 1 shall be specified in the provisions referred to in
and operations and the other information referred to in            Article 3 (4).
paragraph 4 to determine whether they are consistent
with the objectives of this Regulation and with the
provisions and policies referred to in Articles 6 and 7.
On the basis of all the plans and operations referred to                                     Article 9
in paragraph 4, it shall establish, through the partnership                                Objective No 2
referred to in Article 4 (1) and in agreement with the
Member State concerned, the Community support                      1.     The declining industrial areas concerned by
framework for Community structural operations, in                  Objective No 2 shall comprise regions, frontier regions
accordance with the procedures referred to in Article 17.          or parts of regions (including employment areas and
                                                                   urban comunities).
The Community support framework              shall cover in
particular:
                                                                   2.     The areas referred to in paragraph 1 must represent
— the priorities adopted for Community assistance,                 or belong to a NUTS level III territorial unit which
                                                                   satisfies the following criteria:
— the forms of assistance,
— the financing plan, with details of the amount of                (a) the average rate of unemployment must have been at
     assistance and its source,                                         least 15 % above the recorded Community average
                                                                        in the last three years for which statistics are
— the duration of the assistance.                                       available;
The Community support framework shall provide coor-
dination of Community structural assistance towards                (b) the percentage share of industrial employment in
those of the objectives referred to in Article 1 which may              total employment must have exceeded                the
be pursued in a particular region.                                      Community average in any of the last 10 reference
                                                                        years;
The Community support framework may, if necessary,
be revised and adjusted, on the initiative of the Member
State or of the Commission, in order to take account of            (c) there must have been an observable fall in industrial
new relevant information and of the results obtained                    employment compared with the reference year
during implementation of the operations concerned.                      chosen in accordance with point (b).
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 151/10                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                    9. 6. 88
Community assistance may extend over adjacent areas                 — an indication of the use to be made of assistance
satisfying the criteria in points (a) to (c).                            available under the Funds, the EIB and the other
                                                                         financial instruments in implementing the plans.
3.    The following may also qualify for Community
assistance:                                                         Where appropriate, the conversion plans shall be
                                                                    supplemented, at the Commission's request or on the
                                                                    initiative of Member States, by other relevant infor-
(a) areas which have experienced substantial job losses in          mation relating in particular to operations to be carried
     certain specific industries over the last three years;         out at national, sectoral or interregional level.
(b) areas threatened with substantial job losses and
     covered by a restructuring plan in specific industries,        8.     The Commission shall examine the proposed plans
                                                                    to determine whether they are consistent with the
                                                                    objectives of this Regulation and with the provisions and
with those losses resulting in a serious aggravation of             policies referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish,
unemployment.                                                       through the partnership defined in Article 4 (1), in
                                                                    agreement with the Member State concerned and in
The specific industries referred to are coal, steel, textiles       accordance with the procedures referred to in Article 17,
and clothing, and shipbuilding. Other industries may be             the Community conversion support framework for
considered where the Commission so decides, having                  Community structural operations.
regard to the general developments in those industries in
the Community.                                                     The Community support framework              shall cover in
                                                                   particular:
4.    As soon as this Regulation has entered into force,
the Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure             — the priorities adopted for Community assistance,
laid down in Article 17 and on the basis of paragraphs 2
and 3 above, establish an initial list of the areas referred       — the forms of assistance,
to in paragraph 1.
                                                                   — the financing plan, with details of the amount of
In establishing the list and in defining the Community                   assistance and its source,
support framework referred to in paragraph 8 below, the
Commission shall seek to ensure that assistance is
genuinely concentrated on the areas most seriously                 — the duration of the assistance.
affected, at the most appropriate geographical level.
                                                                   The Community support framework may, if necessary,
As soon as this Regulation has been adopted, Member                be revised and adjusted to take account of new relevant
States shall supply to the Commission all information               information and of the results obtained during
which might be of assistance to it in establishing this list.       implementations of the operations concerned.
5.    The list of areas shall be reviewed by the                    9.     The arrangements for the preparation              and
Commission every year. However, the assistance granted             submission of regional and social conversion plans        and
by the Community in respect of Objective No 2 in the               for the Community support frameworks shall be             laid
various areas listed shall be planned and implemented on           down in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4)       and
a three-yearly basis.                                               (5).
6.    Not lather than three years after this Regulation             10.     Assistance in connection with Objective N o 2 shall
enters into force, the criteria laid down in paragraphs 2           be predominantly in the form of operational
and 3 shall be reviewed by the Council, acting by                   programmes.
qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission
and in cooperation with the European Parliament.                    11.     The operations of the Funds contributing to
                                                                    Objective No 2 shall be specified in the provisions
7.    The Member States concerned by the list referred             referred to in Article 3 (4).
to in paragraph 4 and by the assistance referred to in
paragraph 3 shall submit their regional and social                  12.     By way of derogation from the provisions of
conversion plans to the Commission. Those plans shall              paragraph 4 above and in order to facilitate the restruc-
include in particular:                                             turing endorsed by the Community of declining
                                                                    industrial sectors, the ESF may provide assistance in
— a description of the conversion priorities selected for          favour of workers directly affected by restructuring in
    the areas concerned and of the corresponding oper-              areas other than those concerned by the criteria of para-
    ations,                                                        graphs 2 and 3.
 ---pagebreak--- 9. 6. 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               N o C 151/11
                          Article 10                              4.    The arrangements for the preparation and
                                                                  submission of plans for combating long-term unem-
                  Objectives No 3 and No 4
                                                                  ployment and facilitating the occupational integration of
1.    "Within the      framework      of   the     provisions     young people and for the Community support
implementing this Regulation, the Commission shall                frameworks shall be laid down in the provisions referred
establish for a period covering a number of years general         to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
guidelines that set out and clarify the Community
choices and criteria concerning action to combat long-            5.    Assistance in connection with Objectives N o 3 and
term unemployment (Objective No 3) and to facilitate              N o 4 shall be predominantly in the form of operational
the occupational integration of young people (Objective           programmes.
N o 4).
                                                                  6.    The operations eligible for ESF assistance in
2.    Member States shall submit their plans for                  connection with Objectives No 3 and No 4 shall be
combating long-term unemployment (Objective No 3)                 specified in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4).
and for facilitating the occupational integration of young
people (Objective No 4) to the Commission. Those plans
shall include in particular:                                                                Article 11
                                                                                         Objective No 5
— information on the employment and labour market
    policy implemented at national level,                         1.    The arrangements for the implementation of oper-
                                                                  ations connected with the accelerated adaptation of agri-
— an indication of the priority operations undertaken             cultural structures (Objective No 5 (a)) shall be decided
    for a specific number of years to help those sections         on within the framework of the provisions adopted
    of the population concerned by Objectives No 3 and            pursuant to Article 3 (4) and (5).
    N o 4, and resulting from the general guidelines laid
    down by the Commission,                                       2.    The criteria to be applied in selecting the rural
                                                                  areas concerned by Objective No 5 (b) shall be decided
— an indication of the use to be made of assistance
                                                                  on within the framework of the provisions adopted
    available under the ESF — where appropriate, in
                                                                  pursuant to Article 3 (4) and (5).
    conjunction with assistance from the EIB or other
    Community financial instruments — in implementing
    the plans.                                                    3.    The Member States concerned by the pursuit of
                                                                  Objective No 5 (b) shall submit their development plans
                                                                  for rural areas to the Commission. Those plans shall
3.    The Commission shall examine the proposed plans
                                                                  include in particular:
to determine whether they are consistent with the
objectives of this Regulation, with the general guidelines
                                                                  — a description of the rural development priorities and
laid down by it and with the provisions and policies
referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish for each          of the corresponding measures,
Member State, through the partnership referred to in
Article 4(1), in agreement with the Member State                  — an indication of the use to be made of assistance
concerned and in accordance with the procedures                       available under the different Funds, the EIB and the
referred to in Article 17, the Community support                      other financial instruments in implementing the plans.
framework for the attainment of Objectives No 3 and
No 4.                                                             The Commission shall examine the proposed plans to
                                                                  determine whether they are consistent with the objectives
The Community support framework shall indicate in                 of this Regulation and with the provisions and policies
particular:                                                       referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish, through
                                                                  the partnership referred to in Article 4 (1), in agreement
— the specific priorities adopted for Community                   with the Member State concerned and in accordance
    assistance in respect of the persons concerned by             with the procedures referred to in Article 17, the
    Objectives No 3 and No 4,                                     Community support framework for rural development.
— the forms of assistance,                                        The Community support framework               shall cover in
                                                                  particular:
— the financing plan, with details of the amount of
    assistance and its source,                                    — the rural development            priorities   adopted   for
                                                                      Community assistance,
— the duration of the assistance.
                                                                  — the forms of assistance,
The Community support framework may, if necessary,
be revised and adjusted on the initiative of the Member           — the financing plan, with details of the amount of
State concerned or of the Commission in the light of                  assistance and its source,
relevant new information and of the results obtained
during implementation of the operations concerned.                — the duration of the assistance.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 151/12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                      9. 6. 88
The Community support framework may, if necessary,                                            Article 13
be revised and adjusted on the initiative of the Member
State concerned or of the Commission in the light of                            Differentiation of rates of assistance
new relevant information and of the results obtained              1.    The Community contribution to the financing of
during implementation of the operations concerned.                operations shall be differentiated in the light of the
                                                                  following:
The arrangements for the preparation and submission of
rural development plans by Member States shall be laid            — the seriousness of the specific, notably regional,
down in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and               problems to be tackled,
(5).
                                                                  — the financing         capactiy    of   the    Member    State
                                                                      concerned,
4.    The part-financing of national aids and of opera-
tional programmes shall be the preferred form of
assistance.                                                      — the special importance attaching to measures from a
                                                                      Community viewpoint,
5.    The operations eligible for assistance under the           — the special importance attaching to measures from a
different Funds in connection with Objective No 5 shall               regional and a sectoral viewpoint,
be specified in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4).
In the case of the EAGGF Guidance Section, those                 — the particular characteristics of the types of measure
provisions shall distinguish between operations to be                 proposed.
financed in connection with the adaptation of agri-
cultural structures and operations to be financed in
connection with rural development.                                2.    Such differentiation shall take account of the
                                                                  planned link between grants and loans referred to in
                                                                 Article 5 (4).
                 IV. Financial provisions
                                                                  3.    The rates of Community assistance granted by the
                                                                  Funds in respect of the various objectives listed in
                        Article 12                               Article 1 shall be subject to the following ceilings:
              Fund resources and concentration
                                                                 — a maximum of 75 % of the total cost and, as a
1.    Within the framework of the multiannual budget                  general rule, at least 50 % of public expenditure in
forecasts, the Commission shall present each year a five-             the case of measures carried out in the regions
year projection of the appropriations needed for the                  eligible for assistance under Objective No 1,
three structural Funds taken together. The projection
shall be accompanied by an indicative breakdown of the
                                                                 — a maximum of 50 % of the total cost and, as a
commitment appropriations to be assigned to each
                                                                      general rule, at least 25 °/o of public expenditure in
objective. In drawing up each preliminary draft budget,
                                                                      the case of measures carried out in the other regions.
the Commission shall, where the allocation for the
structural Funds is concerned, take account of the indi-
cative breakdown by objective.                                   The minimum rates of assistance laid down above shall
                                                                  not apply to revenue bearing investment.
2.    The commitment appropriations for the structural
                                                                 4.     Preparatory studies and technical assistance
Funds taken together shall be doubled in real terms
                                                                  measures undertaken on the initiative of the Commission
between 1987 and 1993.
                                                                 may be financed at 100 % of total cost.
3.    A major effort shall be made to concentrate                 5.    The arrangements for implementation of this
budgetary resources on the less-developed regions                Article shall be laid down in the implementing decisions
covered by Objective No 1. The contributions of the              referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
structural Funds to these regions shall be doubled in real
terms by 1992.
                                                                                       V. Other provisions
4.    The Commission shall ensure that, in the
framework of the additional resources for the regions
covered by Objective N o 1 a special effort will be                                           Article 14
undertaken for the least prosperous regions.                                 Combination and overlapping of assistance
                                                                  1.    For any given period, an individual measure or
5.    The ERDF may devote up to 80 % of its appropri-            operation may benefit from assistance from only one
ations to Objective N o 1.                                        Fund at a time.
 ---pagebreak--- 9. 6. 88                                Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 151/13
2.    An individual measure or operation may benefit               to the Economic and Social Committee a report on the
from assistance from a Fund or other financial                     implementation of this Regulation during the preceding
instrument in respect of only one of the objectives set            year.
out in Article 1 at a time.
                                                                   In this report, the Commission shall in particular indicate
                                                                   what progress has been made towards achieving the
3.    When implemented in the less-developed regions,
                                                                   objectives set out in Article 1 and in concentrating
operations in connection with all the objectives specified
                                                                   assistance as required by Article 12.
in Article 1 of this Regulation shall be accounted for
under Objective No 1.
                                                                                            Article 17
4.    The arrangements governing the combination and                                        Committees
overlapping of assistance shall be laid down in the
                                                                   1.    In implementing this Regulation, the Commission
provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
                                                                   shall be assisted by three advisory committees dealing
                                                                   respectively with:
                        Article 15
                                                                   — Objectives No 1 and No 2,
                   Transitional provisions
                                                                  — Objectives No 3 and No 4,
1.    This Regulation shall not affect multiannual oper-
                                                                  — Objectives No 5 (a) and No 5 (b).
ations approved by the Council or by the Commission,
under the existing rules governing the Funds, before this          2.    The provisions setting out the arrangements
Regulation is adopted.                                             relating to the functioning of the committees referred to
                                                                   in paragraph 1 and the transitional provisions concerning
2.    Applications for assistance from the Funds towards           the existing committees in the framework of the
a multiannual operation which are submitted after this             management of the Funds, shall be laid down in
Regulation is adopted but before the provisions referred           accordance with Article 3 (4) and (5).
to in Article 3 (4) and (5) enter into force shall be
considered in the light of this Regulation. Any approval
of Community assistance shall be given in accordance                                   VI. Final provisions
with the forms and procedures laid down by the rules in
force at the time the application is approved.                                              Article 18
                                                                                          Implementation
3.    The provisions in this Regulation which require the
Member States to draw up plans and operational                    The Commission shall be responsible for the implemen-
programmes shall be implemented progressively in                   tation of this Regulation.
accordance with the transitional provisions referred to in
Article 3 (4) and (5). The Commission shall help with                                       Article 19
implementation in particular by means of the technical                                    Entry into force
assistance measures referred to in Article 4 (3).
                                                                  This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1989.
4.    The implementing decisions referred to in Article
                                                                   Subject to the transitional provisions laid down in Article
3 (4) and (5) shall lay down the transitional provisions           15 (2) and (3), it shall be applicable as from that date.
necessary in relation to existing rules.
                                                                  The date of entry into force may be deferred by the
                                                                   Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal
                        Article 16
                                                                   from the Commission, to allow for the entry into force
                           Reports                                 of the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
Before 1 November of each year, the Commission shall               This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
present to the Council, to the European Parliament and             directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 151/14               Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 6. 88
                                                ANNEX
                                 Regions concerned by Objective No 1
          SPAIN:                  Andalusia
                                  Asturias
                                  Castile-Le6n
                                  Castile-La Mancha
                                  Ceuta-Melilla
                                  Valencia
                                  Extremadura
                                  Galicia
                                  Canary Islands
                                  Murcia
          FRANCE:                 French overseas departements (DOM)
                                  Corsica
          GREECE:                 the entire country
          IRELAND:                the entire country
          ITALY:                  Abruzzi
                                  Basilicata
                                  Calabria
                                  Campania
                                  Molise
                                  Apulia
                                  Sardinia
                                  Sicily
          PORTUGAL:               the entire country
          UNITED KINGDOM:         Northern Ireland