Council Regulation (EEC) No 4254/88 of 19 December 1988, laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Regional Development Fund

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 4254/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Regional Development Fund
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 130e thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Whereas Article 130c of the Treaty states that the European Regional Development Fund is intended to help redress the principal regional imbalances in the Community through participating in the development and structural adjustment of regions whose  development is lagging behind and in the conversion of declining industrial regions;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 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(4) states in  Article 3 (1) that the European Regional Development Fund shall have the essential task of providing support for objectives 1 and 2 specified in Article 1 of the same Regulation, that it shall participate in the operations of objective 5 (b) and, in addition, shall provide support for studies or pilot schemes concerning regional development at Community level;
Whereas provisions common to the Community's Structural Funds have been established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds as between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing instruments(5), together with other provisions common to the activities of the Funds;
Whereas these common provisions must be supplemented, in accordance with Article 3 (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88, by specific provisions concerning the activities of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); whereas the nature of the measures  which may be financed by the ERDF, the information to be included in the plans of Member States under objectives 1 and 2 and the types of activities which will have a privileged place in ERDF assistance must be clarified;
Whereas, as part of the reform of the Funds, the Commission should lay down the regional policy guidelines to be applied in the various stages of planning, notably in establishing the Community support frameworks and in the activities of the European  Regional Development Fund,