Report drawn up on behalf of the Committee on Regional Policy and Regional Planning on the proposal from the commission to the Council (COM(83) 649 final- Doc. 1-1159/83) for a regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No. 724/75 establishing a European Regional Development fund, Part B: Explanatory statement. Working Documents 1984-1985, Document 1-86/84/B, 2 April 1984

The amendments tabled to the proposals from the Commisiion for the reform of the ERDF are designed to meet the following requirements:(a) to increase, as far as possible, the effectiveness of the ERDF as a specific instrument for regional development, (b) to take account, for that purpose, of the basic political guidelines expressed by the European Parliament in its resolution of 22 April 1982 on the first proposals amending the ERDF Regulation and the recent resolution of 17 November 1983 on the report on ways of increasing the effectiveness of the Community's structural funds, the latter document having served as a basis for resuming negotiations on the ERDF and having anticipated the main points put forward in the proposals underconsideration.2. However, before considering the individual amendments in detail, it might be useful to outline ,the erinEie!1_22i!E!i~!! underlying them: !2_ey!_!2r~!r9_9!QYiQ!_£2mmYQi!~_r!9i2Q!l_e2li£~-~~tliuti through decisions by the Council, which should be periodically embodied in guidelines and priorities concerning, among other things, action to be taken through the ERDF and, in particular, Community programmes (see in particular amendment No. 10 to Art~cle 2, paragraph 2>; )]~~£bi!Y!-!-9!!!1!!_£QQ£!Q1!!1iQQ_Qf the ERDF's resources than in the Commission's proposal, and thus comply as far as possible wit~ the guidelines repe~tedly put forward by the European Parliament on the matter (see amendment No. 12 to Article 4, paragraph 3);and correspondingly prevent the Council from