CELEX: 51987PC0376
Language: en
Date: 1987-08-24
Title: 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 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

12.9.87                                Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 245/3
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation on the tasks of the structural Funds and their effectiveness
             and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the Euro-
                                 pean Investment Bank and the other financial instruments
                                                      COM(87) 376 final
                              (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 4 August 1987)
                                                        (87/C 245/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                           Whereas, in parallel with the other means referred to in
                                                                   Article 130 B, Community operations under the
                                                                   structural Funds, the European Investment Bank (EIB)
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European              and the other existing financial instruments must be in
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130 D                support of the objectives set out in Articles 130 A and
thereof,                                                            130 C;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                 Whereas it is necessary, in order to achieve the aim set
                                                                   by Article 130 D, to direct all Community activity in this
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                  field towards attainment of priority objectives which are
liament,                                                           clearly defined in the light of that aim;
                                                                   Whereas it is necessary to specify which Funds are to
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
                                                                   contribute — and to what extent and under what
Social Committee,
                                                                   conditions they are to do so — to achievement of each
                                                                   of the priority objectives and to determine the conditions
Whereas Article 130 A of the Treaty provides for the               under which the EIB and other existing Community
Community to develop and pursue its actions leading to             financial instruments can make their contributions, par-
the strengthening of its economic and social cohesion              ticularly in conjunction with operations under the Funds;
and in particular for it to aim at reducing disparities
between the various regions and the backwardness of the
                                                                   Whereas the ERDF is the main instrument for achieving
least-favoured regions;
                                                                   the objective of ensuring the development and structural
                                                                   adjustment of regions whose development is lagging
Whereas Article 130 C states that the European Regional            behind and whereas it plays a central role in the
Development Fund (ERDF) is intended to help redress                conversion of regions, employment areas and urban
the principal regional imbalances in the Community                 communities seriously affected by industrial decline;
through participating in the development and structural
adjustment of regions whose development is lagging                 Whereas the main tasks of the Funds must be defined so
behind and in the conversion of declining industrial               as to specify the broad categories of tasks assigned to
regions;                                                           each of them for the purpose of achieving the priority
                                                                   objectives;
Whereas, to that end, Article 130 D of the Treaty
provides for a comprehensive proposal the purpose of               Whereas achievement of the priority objective of
which will be to make such amendments to the structure             ensuring the structural adjustment of the less-developed
and operational rules of the European Agricultural                 regions necessitates a significant concentration of the
Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guidance Section                      resources of the Community's structural Funds on that
(EAGGF Guidance Section), the European Social Fund                 objective;
(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 130 A            Whereas the regions and individuals in the Community
and 130 C of the Treaty, to increase their efficiency and          eligible for Community structural assistance in
to coordinate their activities between themselves and              connection with the various priority objectives should be
with the operations of the existing financial instruments;         determined;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 245/4                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                    12.9.87
Whereas Community action is intended to be                        'EIB') and the other financial instruments shall support
complementary to action by the Member States and                  the achievement of the general objectives set out in
whereas, in order to impart value added to their own              Articles B O A and 130 C of the Treaty by contributing
initiatives at the appropriate territorial level, close           to the attainment of five priority objectives:
consultations should be instituted between              the
                                                                   1. Promoting the development and structural adjustment
Commission and the national authorities, where appro-
                                                                      of the less-developed regions (hereinafter referred to
priate in association with the regional and local auth-
                                                                      as 'Objective No 1');
orities or other agencies acting as partners in the pursuit
of a common goal;                                                 2. Converting the regions, employment areas and urban
                                                                      communities seriously affected by industrial decline
Whereas it is necessary to specify the principal forms of             and facilitating, restructuring of declining industries
structural assistance to be provided by the Community                 (hereinafter referred to as 'Objective No 2');
for the purposes of the objectives set out in Articles
 130 A and 130 C of the Treaty; whereas those forms of            3. Combating long-term unemployment              (hereinafter
assistance must add to the effectiveness of the measures              referred to as 'Objective No 3');
taken by it and at the same time satisfy the needs of the         4. Facilitating the occupational integration of young
different situations that may arise;                                  people (hereinafter referred to as 'Objective No 4');
Whereas the main emphasis must be placed on assistance            5. With a view to reform of the common agricultural
in the form of multiannual operational programmes;                    policy, speeding up the adjustment of agricultural
                                                                      structures and promoting the development of rural
Whereas, in order to secure joint action between one or               areas (hereinafter referred to as 'Objective No 5').
more Funds, the EIB and one or more of the other
financial instruments, those programmes may be drawn                                         Article 2
up and implemented on the basis of an integrated
approach to the measures involved;                                1.     The structural Funds (the European Agricultural
                                                                  Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guidance Section,
Whereas mechanisms should be established for varying              hereinafter referred to as the 'EAGGF Guidance
Community assistance in line with the particular features         Section'; the European Social Fund, hereinafter referred
of the measures to be supported and in the light of the           to as the 'ESF'; the European Regional Development
context in which they are to be carried out and the               Fund, hereinafter referred to as the 'ERDF') shall
financing capacity of the Member State concerned;                 contribute, each according to the specific provisions
                                                                  governing its operations, to the attainment of Objectives
Whereas, in implementing this Regulation, it is necessary         Nos 1 to 5 on the basis of the breakdown given below:
to establish procedures for ensuring close cooperation
between the Commission and the national, regional and             — Objective No 1: ERDF, ESF, EAGGF Guidance
local authorities in Member States;                                    Section,
                                                                  — Objective No 2: ERDF, ESF,
Whereas it is necessary to establish effective methods of
monitoring, assessing and carrying out checks in respect          — Objective No 3: ESF,
of Community structural operations and to ensure that             — Objective No 4: ESF,
those methods are adapted to the tasks of the different
Funds as clarified by this Regulation;                            — Objective No 5: EAGGF Guidance Section, ESF,
                                                                       ERDF.
Whereas it is necessary to lay down in subsequent
implementing legislation the detailed rules governing the         2.     The EIB, while performing the tasks assigned to it
individual Funds, together with the arrangements for the          by Articles 129 and 130 of the Treaty, shall cooperate in
coordination and joint deployment of the Community's              achieving the objectives set out in Article 1 in accordance
various structural Funds and instruments, and the                 with the procedures laid down in its Statute. The other
necessary transitional provisions;                                financial instruments may contribute, each according to
                                                                  the specific provisions governing its operations, to any
Whereas, while performing the tasks assigned to it by             measure supported by one or more of the structural
Articles 129 and 130 of the Treaty, the EIB is to                 Funds in connection with one of the abovementioned
cooperate in achieving the objectives set out in this             five objectives.
Regulation in accordance with the procedures laid down
in its Statute,                                                                              Article 3
                                                                  1.     The ERDF shall perform the tasks entrusted to it
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                                                  by Article 130 C of the Treaty by providing support in
                                                                  particular for:
I. OBJECTIVES AND TASKS OF THE STRUCTURAL
                           FUNDS                                  (a) productive investment;
                                                                  (b) the creation or modernization of infrastructures
                          Article 1
                                                                       essential to the development or conversion of the
Community operations under the structural Funds, the                   regions, employment areas and urban communities
European Investment Bank (hereinafter referred to as the               concerned;
 ---pagebreak---  12.9. 87                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 245/5
(c) measures to exploit the potential for internally               the EIB and the other financial instruments, on the
     generated development of the regions, employment              other. The Commission and the EIB shall establish by
     areas and urban communities concerned;                        mutual agreement the practical arrangements for coordi-
                                                                   nating their operations.
(d) studies or pilot schemes concerning physical planning
     at Community level, especially where frontier areas           6. The implementing decisions referred to in
     are involved.                                                 paragraphs 4 and 5 above shall lay down the transitional
                                                                   provisions necessary in relation to existing rules.
2. With a view to fostering employment and in
connection with the task assigned to it by Article 123 of          7. The implementing decisions referred to in
the Treaty, the ESF shall provide support for measures,            paragraphs 4 and 5 may provide for Community
notably in the field of vocational training, aimed at:             financing of operations permitting the exchange of infor-
                                                                   mation between Member States based on the assessment
(a) securing better use of,        and adapting, human             of operational programmes and of innovative operations
     resources;                                                    involving a number of Member States.
(b) expanding employment opportunities.
                                                                    II. ARRANGEMENTS FOR STRUCTURAL OPERATIONS
Such support shall take account of labour-market
requirements and of the need for a consistent selection                                       Article 4
of measures tailored to the priorities laid down in                         Complementarity, partnership, assistance
Community and national employment policies.
                                                                   1. Acting in accordance with the provisions of this
                                                                   Regulation and with the provisions referred to in Article
3. Assistance from the EAGGF Guidance Section shall
                                                                   3 (4) and (5), the Commission shall take the steps and
be geared in particular to performing the following tasks,
                                                                   measures necessary to ensure that Community operations
having due regard for the principles laid down in Article
                                                                   are in support of the objectives set out in Article 1 and
39 of the Treaty:
                                                                   impart to national initiatives the necessary value added.
(a) strengthening      and     reorganizing      agricultural
     structures, including those for the marketing and             2. Community operations shall be such as to
     processing of agricultural and fishery products, in           complement corresponding national operations. They
    particular in the context of the reform of the                 shall be established through close consultations between
     Community's common agricultural policy;                       the Commission and the Member State concerned acting
                                                                   as partners in pursuit of a common goal. These consul-
(b) converting agricultural activities inter alia through          tations are hereinafter referred to as the 'partnership'.
                                                                   They shall, where appropriate, bring together the
     measures to create alternative activities in rural
                                                                   regional, local or other authorities designated by that
     areas;
                                                                   Member State. The partnership shall cover the
                                                                   preparation, financing, monitoring and assessment of
(c) ensuring a fair standard of living for those who
                                                                   operations.
     continue in farming;
(d) helping to develop the social fabric of rural areas, to        3. Within the framework of the partnership, the
     protect the environment, to preserve the countryside          Commission may, in accordance with procedures laid
     and to offset the effects of natural handicaps on             down in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4),
     agriculture.                                                  contribute to the preparation, implementation and adap-
                                                                   tation of operations by financing preparatory studies and
                                                                   technical assistance operations locally, in agreement with
4. The specific provisions governing operations under              the Member State concerned or with the authorities
each structural Fund shall be laid down in the                     referred to in paragraph 2;
implementing decisions adopted pursuant to Article 43,
 127 or 130 E of the Treaty. They shall establish in
particular the procedures for providing assistance in one          4. For each objective, tasks shall be shared between
of the forms defined in Article 5 (2), the conditions of           the Commission and the Member States during the
eligibility and the rates of assistance. Without prejudice         preparation of operations in accordance with Articles 8
to paragraph 5, they shall also establish the arrangements         toll.
for the monitoring, assessment, financial management
and checking of measures and the necessary transitional                                       Article 5
provisions.
                                                                                       Financial assistance
5. The Council, acting on the basis of Articles 43, 127             1. Financial assistance under the structural Funds, the
or 130 E of the Treaty, shall adopt the provisions                 EIB and the other Community financial instruments shall
necessary for ensuring coordination between the                    be provided in a variety of forms the reflect that nature
different Funds, on the one hand, and between them and             of the operations to be carried out.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 245/6                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                    12.9.87
2. In the case of the structural Funds, financial                    2. In order to gauge their effectiveness, Community
assistance shall be provided in one of the following                 structural operations shall be the subject of an ex ante
forms:                                                               and an ex post assessment designed to highlight their
                                                                     economic impact and to analyse their effects on specific
(a) part-financing of operational programmes;                        structural problems.
(b) part-financing by the Community of an aid scheme;                3. The procedures for monitoring and assessing
                                                                     Community operations shall be established by the
(c) provision of general grants managed by an                        provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5) and, in the
      intermediary and allocated by the latter in the form           case of the EIB, in the manner provided for in its
      of individual grants to final beneficiaries;                   Statute.
(d) part-financing of major projects;                                                         Article 7
                                                                                      Compatibility and checks
(e) support for technical assistance or studies in
      preparation for operations;                                    1. Measures part-financed by the structural Funds or
                                                                     receiving assistance from the EIB or from another
Other forms of assistance may be taken into                          financial instrument shall be in keeping with the
consideration in the light of the development of financial           provisions of the Treaty, with the instruments adopted
engineering techniques.                                              pursuant to the latter and with the objectives of
                                                                     Community policies, notably with regard to the rules on
3. In the case of the EIB and the other financial instru-            competition, the award of public contracts and
ments, each observing its own specific rules, financial              protection of the environment.
assistance shall be provided in one of the following
forms:                                                               2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Financial
                                                                     Regulation, the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and
— loans or other forms of part-financing               specific      (5) shall lay down harmonized rules for strengthening
     investment projects,                                            checks on structural operations. They shall be adjusted
                                                                     to reflect the special nature of the financial operations
— global loans,                                                      concerned. The procedures for carrying out checks on
                                                                     operations undertaken by the EIB are set out in its
                                                                     Statute.
— part-financing of technical assistance or of studies in
     preparation for operations,
                                                                          III. PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SPECIFIC
— guarantees.                                                                               OBJECTIVES
4. An operational programme within the meaning of                                             Article 8
paragraph 2 (a) shall consist in a series of consistent
multiannual measures which may be implemented                                              Objective No 1
through recourse to one or more of the forms of                      1. As soon as this Regulation has been adopted, the
financial assistance described in paragraph 2 (b) to (e) or          Commission shall decide on a list of the structurally less-
in paragraph 3, to one or more Funds and to one or                   developed regions concerned by Objective No 1.
more of the other financial instruments.
                                                                     2. The Commission shall, in accordance with the
Operational programmes shall be undertaken on the                    procedures referred to in Article 16, draw up the list
initiative of the Member States or of the Commission.                referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of per capita
                                                                     GDP in the regions of administrative level NUTS II as
Where an operational programme involves operations                   compared with the Community average. Regions that,
under more than one Fund and/or more than one other                  taking the figures for recent years, have a per capita
financial instrument, it may be implemented in the form              GDP 75 % lower than that average shall be included in
of an integrated approach the details of which shall be              the list.
determined by the provisions referred to in Article 3 (5).
                                                                     Northern Ireland and the French overseas departments
                                                                     shall be included in the list of structurally less-developed
                            Article 6                                regions.
                  Monitoring and assessment                          The list shall be valid for five years. On expiry of the
                                                                     five-year period, the Commission, acting in accordance
 1. Community operations shall be monitored to                       with the procedures referred to in Article 16, shall decide
ensure that the commitments entered into as part of the              on a new list.
objectives set out in Articles 130 A and 130 C of the
Treaty are effectively honoured. Such monitoring shall,              Member States shall communicate to the Commission
where necessary, make it possible to adjust operations in            any information likely to be of assistance in drawing up
line with requirements arising during implementation.                the list.
 ---pagebreak---  12.9.87                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 245/7
3. The Member States concerned by the list referred                support of attainment of Objective No 1, to promote
to in paragraph 1 shall submit their regional development          operations of significant interest to the Community.
plans to the Commission. Those plans shall include in
particular:                                                        The Member States concerned and the Commission
                                                                   shall, as part of their consultations, check on the quality
— a description of the regional development priorites              and pace of implementation of the proposed operations.
     selected and of the corresponding measures,
                                                                   8. The operations eligible for assistance under the
— an indication of the use that the competent national             various Funds contributing to attainment of Objective
     authorities intend to make of assistance available            No 1 shall be specified in the provisions referred to in
     under the Funds, the EIB and the other financial              Article 3 (4).
     instruments in implementing the plans.
                                                                                              Article 9
Where appropriate, the regional development plans shall
be supplemented, at the Commission's request or on the                                    Objective No 2
initiative of Member States, by other relevant infor-              1. As soon as this Regulation has been adopted, the
mation relating in particular to operations to be carried          Commission shall decide on a list of the regions,
out at national, sectoral or interregional level.                  employment areas and urban communities concerned by
                                                                   Objective No 2. The list may be amended in the light of
4. The Commission shall examine the proposed plans                 the changing situation in the regions, employment areas
to determine whether they are consistent with the                  and urban communities concerned.
objectives of this Regulation and with the provisions and
policies referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish,      2. The Commission shall, in accordance with the
in consultation with the competent authorities in the              procedures referred to in Article 16, draw up the list
Member State concerned and in accordance with the                  referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of objective
procedures referred to in Article 16, the Community                socio-economic criteria that take account among other
support framework for Community structural operations.             things of the seriousness and changing pattern of the
                                                                   industrial problems and unemployment. Those criteria
The Community support framework shall cover in                     shall be set out in the provisions referred to in Article 3
particular:                                                        (4) and (5).
— the regional development priorities adopted for                  Member States shall communicate to the Commission
     Community assistance,                                         any information likely to be of assistance in drawing up
                                                                   the list.
— the forms of assistance,
                                                                   3. The Member States concerned by the list referred
— the financing plan, with details of the amount of                to in paragraph 1 shall submit their regional conversion
     assistance and its source,                                    plans to the Commission. Those plans shall include in
                                                                   particular:
— the duration of the assistance.                                  — a description of the conversion priorities selected for
                                                                        the regions, employment areas and urban
The Community support framework may, if necessary,                      communities concerned and of the corresponding
be revised and adjusted to take account of new relevant                 measures,
information and of the results obtained during
implementation of the operations concerned.                        — an indication of the use that the competent national
                                                                         authorities intend to make of assistance available
 5. The arrangements for the preparation and                             under the Funds, the EIB and the other financial
 submission of regional development plans and for the                    instruments in implementing the plans.
Community support frameworks shall be laid down in                 Where appropriate, the conversion plans shall be
the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).                supplemented, at the Commission's request or on the
                                                                    initiative of Member States, by other relevant infor-
 6. Assistance in respect of Objective No 1 shall be                mation relating in particular to operations to be carried
predominantly in the form of operational programmes.                out at national, sectoral or interregional level.
 7. With a view to facilitating the programming of                  4. The Commission shall examine the proposed plans
 operations in the regions concerned, the Commission                to determine whether they are consistent with the
 shall, as a guide, share out between Member States for a           objectives of this Regulation and with the provisions and
 period of five years 75 % of the commitment appro-                 policies referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish,
 priations allocated to the structural Funds for the                in consultation with the competent authorities in the
 purposes of Objective No 1. This share-out shall be                Member State concerned and in accordance with the
 based on socio-economic criteria typifying the structural          procedures referred to in Article 16, the Community
 backwardness of the regions. The resources not shared              conversion support framework for Community structural
 out in this way shall be used by the Commission, in                operations.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 245/8                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                    12. 9. 87
The Community framework in support of regional                     3. The Commission shall examine the proposed plans
conversion shall cover in particular:                              to determine whether they are consistent with the
                                                                   objectives of this Regulation, with the general guidelines
— the conversion priorities adopted for Community                  laid down by it and with the provisions and policies
    assistance,                                                    referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish for each
                                                                   Member State, in consultation with the competent auth-
— the forms of assistance,                                         orities and in accordance with the procedures referred to
                                                                   in Article 16, the Community support framework for the
— the financing plan, with details of the amount of                attainment of Objectives Nos 3 and 4.
    assistance and its source,
                                                                   The Community support framework shall indicate in
                                                                   particular:
— the duration of the assistance.
                                                                   — the Community priorities,
The Community support framework may, if necessary,
be revised and adjusted to take account of new relevant            — the particular objectives adopted for Community
information and of the results obtained during                         assistance in respect of the sections of the population
implementation of the operations concerned.                            concerned by Objectives Nos 3 and 4,
                                                                   — the forms of assistance,
5. The arrangements for the preparation and
submission of regional conversion plans and for the                — the financing plan, with details of the amount of
Community support frameworks shall be laid down in                     assistance and its source,
the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
                                                                   — the duration of the assistance.
6. In order to facilitate the restructuring — endorsed
by the Community — of declining industries, the ESF                The Community support framework may, if necessary,
may operate outside the regions referred to in paragraph           be revised and adjusted in the light of relevant new
1 to help workers directly affected by such restructuring.         information and of the results obtained during
                                                                   implementation of the operations concerned.
                          Article 10                               4. The arrangements for the preparation and
                                                                   submission of plans for combating long-term
                   Objectives Nos 3 and 4                          unemployment and facilitating the occupational
1. Within the framework of the provisions                          integration of young people and for the Community
implementing this Regulation, the Commission shall                 support frameworks shall be laid down in the provisions
establish for a period covering a number of years general          referred to 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 Nos 3 and
term unemployment (Objective No 3) and to facilitate               4 shall be predominantly in the form of operational
the occupational integration of young people (Objective            programmes.
No 4).
                                                                   6. The operations eligible for ESF assistance in
2. Member States shall submit their plans for                      connection with Objectives Nos 3 and 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                                       Article 11
shall include in particular:
                                                                                          Objective No 5
— information on the employment and labour market                   1. The arrangements for the implementation of
    policy implemented at national level,                          operations connected with the accelerated adaptation of
                                                                   agricultural structures shall be decided on within the
— an indication of the priority operations already under           framework of the provisions adopted pursuant to Article
    way or to be carried out for a specific number of               3 (4)and (5).
    years to help those sections of the population
    concerned by Objectives Nos 3 and 4, that is those             2. The Commission may, in the light of the needs
    operations corresponding to the general guidelines             expressed by Member States, propose operations
    laid down by the Commission,                                   connected with rural development. Those operations may
                                                                   form part of rural development plans for geographical
— an indication of the use that the competent national              areas at the territorial level deemed appropriate. Those
    authorities intend to make of assistance available             plans shall include in particular:
    under the ESF — where appropriate, in conjunction
    with assistance from the EIB or other Community                — a description of the rural development priorities and
    financial instruments — in implementing the plans.                  of the corresponding measures;
 ---pagebreak---  12.9. 87                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 245/9
— an indication of the use that the competent national               objective. In drawing up each preliminary draft budget,
    authorities intend to make of assistance available               the Commission shall, where the allocation for the
    under the different Funds, the EIB and the other                 structural Funds is concerned, take account of the
    financial instruments in implementing the plans.                 indicative breakdown for each objective.
                                                                     The commitment appropriations for the structural Funds
The Commission shall examine the proposed plans to                   taken together shall be doubled in real terms between
determine whether they are consistent with the objectives            1987 and 1992.
of this Regulation and with the provisions and policies
referred to in Articles 6 and 7. It shall establish, in              A major effort shall be made to concentrate budgetary
consultation with the competent authorities in the                   resources on Objective No 1 (less-developed regions).
Member State concerned and in accordance with the                    The annual increase in the commitment appropriations
procedures referred to in Article 16, the Community                  assigned to Objective No 1 shall be at least equivalent to
support framework for rural development.                             the overall annual increase in the commitment appropri-
                                                                     ations for the structural Funds. The ERDF may devote
The Community support framework               shall cover in         up to 80 % of its appropriations to Objective No 1.
particular:
                                                                                              Article 13
— the rural development            priorities   adopted     for
                                                                     The Community contribution to the financing of
    Community assistance,
                                                                     operations shall be differentiated in the light of the
                                                                     following:
— the forms of assistance,
                                                                     — the seriousness of the specific, notably regional,
                                                                         problems to be tackled,
— the financing plan, with details of the amount of
    assistance and its source,                                       — the financing       capactiy   of   the  Member      State
                                                                         concerned,
— the duration of the assistance.
                                                                     — the special importance attaching to measures from a
                                                                         Community viewpoint,
The Community support framework may, if necessary,
                                                                     — the special importance attaching to measures from a
be revised and adjusted in the light of new relevant
                                                                         regional and a sectoral viewpoint,
information and of the results obtained during
implementation of the operations concerned.                          — the particular characteristics of the types of measure
                                                                         proposed.
The arrangements for the preparation and submission of
rural development plans by Member States shall be laid               Such differentiation shall take account of the planned
down in provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).             link between grants and loans mobilized. The purpose of
                                                                     combining loan and grant elements shall be to maximize
                                                                     the stimulus provided by Community assistance while at
3.    The part-financing of national aids and operational            the same time limiting its budgetary cost.
programmes shall be the preferred form of assistance.
                                                                            V. COMBINATION AND OVERLAPPING OF
4.    The operations eligible for assistance under the                                       ASSISTANCE
different Funds in connection with Objective No 5 shall
be specified in the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4).                                  Article 14
In the case of the EAGGF Guidance Section, those                      1.   For any given period, an individual measure or
provisions shall distinguish between operations to be                operation may benefit from assistance from only- one
financed in connection with the adaptation of agri-                  Fund at a time.
cultural structures and operations to be financed in
connection with rural development.                                   2.    An individual measure or operation may benefit
                                                                     from assistance from a Fund or other financial
                                                                     instrument in respect of only one of the objectives set
                IV. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS                             out in Article 1 at a time.
                                                                      3.   When implemented in the less-developed regions,
                          Article 12
                                                                     operations in connection with Objective No 2 shall be
Within the framework of the multiannual budget                       planned and financed within the framework of Objective
forecasts, the Commission shall present each year a five-             No 1.
year projection of the appropriations needed for the
three structural Funds taken together. The projection                 4.   The arrangements governing the combination and
shall be accompanied by an indicative breakdown of the               overlapping of assistance shall be laid down in the
commitment appropriations to be assigned to each                     provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
 ---pagebreak--- No C 245/10                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                   12.9.87
                  VI. FINAL PROVISIONS                           — Objectives Nos 3 and 4,
                                                                 — Objective No 5.
                         Article 15
                                                                 2. The provisions setting out the arrangements
1. The Commission shall be responsible for the                   relating to the functioning of the committees referred to
implementation of this Regulation.                               in paragraph 1 and the transitional provisions concerning
                                                                 the existing committees responsible for managing the
2. Before 1 November of each year, the Commission                funds shall be laid down in accordance with Article 3
shall present to the Council, to the European Parliament         (4), (5) and (6).
and to the Economic and Social Committee a report on
the implementation of this Regulation during the                                           Article 17
preceding year.
                                                                 This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1989.
                         Article 16                              The date of entry into force may be deferred by the
                                                                 Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal
1. In implementing this Regulation, the Commission               from the Commission, to allow for the entry into force
shall be assisted by three advisory committees dealing           of the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5).
respectively with:
                                                                 This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
— Objectives Nos 1 and 2,                                        directly applicable in all Member States.