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1989 - 1993 

The adoption of the Single European Act, which came into force in July 1987, was the starting point for the first fundamental reform of the Structural Funds. This was put forward by the Commission in June 1988, when the Council adopted the first regulation integrating the Structural Funds under the umbrella of Cohesion Policy.

This reform was accompanied by the doubling of resources in the period up to 1992, and by using the funds in a concentrated, integrated way in order to promote economic and social cohesion in the Community.

Additionally, the reform radically changed the largely isolated way in which the Structural Funds had previously operated in favour of a global system of integration of their respective roles, working together towards the goal of economic and social cohesion. Total structural funding was to double between 1989 and 1993 and a framework was established, which with the revision in 1993, constitutes the basis on which the system works today.

The new structure was built on four key principles those of concentration, partnership, programming and additionality. This structure was one of the decisive factors for the presupposition of five objectives which the Funds should achieve jointly in a multi-annual planning and decentralized organization and management.

The decisions on applications in regard to the ESF began to be taken hence forth in national and sometimes in regional level.

The five fundamental Objectives of the new structural policy consist of:

  • Promotion of growth and structural adaptation of least prosperous regions (objective 1)
  • Adjustment of regions, frontier regions or departments of regions (included are regions of labour market and urban communities) that are seriously affected by the Industrial decline (Objective 2)
  • Combating of long-term unemployment (objective 3)
  • Facilitation of occupational integration of young people and the adaptation of workers to industrial change (0bjective 4)
  • The adaptation of agricultural structure and promote the development of rural areas (0bjectives 5a and 5b, respectively).

Focusing on target groups for active labour market policies, programmes under objectives 3 and 4 had no geographical concentration and were agreed at national level instead.

The four principles set out in that period are:

  • The concentration principle: Community interventions are concentrated on a limited number of priority objectives with focus on the least developed regions.
  • The partnership: all stages of programming and of implementation procedures are governed by the close cooperation between the Commission and the national, regional and local authorities, including the social partners and non governmental organisations.
  • The programming principle: the resources of the Structural Funds are not intended to fund individual projects, but contribute to the implementation of multi-annual programmes based on strategic planning and evaluation.
  • The additionality principle: the resources of the Structural Funds should not be used merely to replace national funds. The increased EU aid was to result in at least an equivalent increase in total EU and national aid in the Member States, taking macro-economic considerations into account. (The resources of Funds are not used in order to substitute the national structural aids, but are added to them).

At the same time, with the Treaty of Maastricht the competences of the European Community were also extended in the social sector with the establishment of the Social Protocol, aiming at strengthening the social dimension of the European model. This includes the following objectives:

  • The promotion of employment
  • The improvement of living and working conditions
  • The social protection
  • The social dialogue
  • The human resources development in order to be ensured a high and sustainable level of employment
  • The integration of people who are excluded from the labour market.

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