Regulation (EC) No 1262/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 June 1999 on the European Social Fund

REGULATION (EC) No 1262/1999 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 21 June 1999
on the European Social Fund
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in articular Article 148 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),
Acting in accordance with Article 251 of the Treaty(4),
(1) Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(5) replaces Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88(6) and Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88(7); whereas it is also necessary to replace Council Regulation (EEC) No 4255/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Social Fund(8);
(2) Whereas Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 defines the general arrangements governing the Structural Funds as a whole and it is necessary to define which activities are eligible for financing by the European Social Fund (hereinafter the "Fund") within the framework of Objectives 1, 2 and 3, referred to in Article 1, first subparagraph, points 1, 2 and 3 of the said Regulation (hereinafter referred to as "Objectives 1, 2 and 3"), in the framework of the Community initiative for combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in connection with the labour market, and within the framework of innovative measures and technical assistance;
(3) Whereas it is necessary to define the mission of the Fund in relation to the tasks prescribed in the Treaty and in the context of the priorities agreed by the Community in the fields of human resource development and employment;
(4) Whereas the Conclusions of the Amsterdam European Council in June 1997 and its resolution of growth and employment(9) initiated the implementation of the European employment strategy, the annual guidelines on employment and the process of establishing national action plans for employment;
(5) Whereas it is necessary to redefine the scope of the Fund, in particular following the restructuring and simplification of the Objectives of the Structural Funds, to support the European employment strategy and the national action plans for employment linked to it;
(6) Whereas it is necessary to define a common framework for Fund interventions in all three Structural Fund Objectives in order thereby to ensure consistency and complementarity of actions undertaken pursuant to those Objectives with a view to improving the workings of the labour market and to developing human resources;
(7) Whereas the Member States and the Commission ensure that programming and implementation of the actions financed by the Fund in the context of all the Objectives contribute to the promotion of equality of opportunity between men and women and the promotion of the integration and retention of disadvantaged groups and individuals in the labour market;
(8) Whereas the Member States and the Commission also ensure that the social dimension and the employment aspect of the information society are duly taken into account in implementing actions financed by the Fund;
(9) Whereas it is necessary to ensure that operations relating to industrial adaptation take account of the general needs of workers of either sex resulting from economic change and changes in production systems identified or predicted and are not designed to benefit a single firm or a particular industry; whereas particular attention should be devoted to small and medium-sized enterprises and to enhancing access to training and to improving work organisation;
(10) Whereas it is necessary to ensure that the Fund continues to strengthen employment and job qualifications by supporting anticipatory action - as far as possible, counselling, networking and training operations throughout the Community and that in consequence the eligible activities are therefore horizontal and cover the economy as a whole, without an a priori restriction to specific industries or sectors;
(11) Whereas it is necessary to redefine the eligible actions in order to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of policy aims in the context of all the Objectives under which the Fund takes action; whereas it is necessary to define the expenditure eligible for Fund assistance within the framework of the partnership;
(12) Whereas it is necessary to supplement and specify the content of plans and forms of assistance, especially following the redefinition of Objective 3;
(13) Whereas the provision of assistance from the Fund at all levels should be based on the Community's social and employment policy priorities and on the priorities laid down in the national action plans;
(14) Whereas arrangements may be introduced whereby local groups, including non-governmental organisations, may gain simple and rapid access to Fund support for operations concerned with combating social exclusion and thereby build up their capacity for action in that field;
(15) Whereas measures of major importance to the Community undertaken at the initiative of the Commission have an important role to play in achieving the general objectives of the Community structural action referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999; whereas such initiatives should primarily promote policy innovation and transnational cooperation;
(16) Whereas the Fund also contributes to support for technical assistance and innovative measures, and also for preparatory, monitoring and evaluation measures and control in accordance with Articles 22 and 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999;
(17) Whereas it is appropriate to lay down the powers for adoption of the implementing provisions and to set out transitional provisions;
(18) Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 4255/88 should be repealed,