Structural funds and eib

17.12

Structural Funds. We are now in the 2000-06 programming period. As before, structural assistance is provided through the Structural Funds (note capital 'S'), which comprise the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the EAGGF (the Guidance Section and, in the case of Objective 2, the Guarantee Fund) and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance. Legislation on the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund and the ISPA may be found in OJ L 161 of 26 June 1999.

The number of Objectives has been reduced to three: Objective 1, substantially unchanged from the previous programming period and concerned with the development and structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind; Objective 2, supporting economic and social conversion in urban and rural areas and areas dependent on fisheries; and Objective 3, which promotes education and employment in areas of the Community not covered by either of the other two Objectives. As before, assistance is implemented through Community support frameworks (CSFs) (cadres communautaires d'appui — CCA) or single programming documents (SPDs) (documents uniques de programmation — DOCUP), which contain the programmes agreed jointly by the Member States and the Commission. There is transitional support for areas which no longer meet the criteria for eligibility in the new period.

17.13

Community initiatives. The number of Community Initiatives has been reduced to four: Interreg, which promotes cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation; Urban, concerned with urban areas in crisis; Leader+ for rural development; and Equal, which combats discrimination. There is also provision for innovative measures.

17.14

European Investment Bank. The EIB was established by the Treaty of Rome. Its main business is making or guaranteeing loans for investment projects. Capital is subscribed by Member States, but principally the EIB borrows on the market by issuing bonds. It provides financial support for projects that embody EU objectives in the countries of the Union and many other countries throughout the world. The Bank has a Board of Governors, a Board of Directors, a Management Committee and an Audit Committee.

17.15

Cohesion Fund. The purpose of the Cohesion Fund is to support projects in the fields of transport (including trans-European networks) and the environment in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

17.16

The Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession (ISPA) provides support to the candidate countries of central and eastern Europe in the same fields as the Cohesion Fund.

17.17

European Investment Fund (EIF). The EIF was set up at the Edinburgh Summit in 1992 and has been in operation since June 1994. It issues loan guarantees for:

• large infrastructure projects for trans-European networks (TENs) in the transport, energy and telecommunications sectors,  

• small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

17.18

New Community Instrument. The NCI was a mechanism allowing the Commission to borrow funds on the capital markets up to a ceiling set by the Council and to on-lend them through the EIB for projects of European interest. The loans granted are guaranteed by the Community budget, which steps in if a borrower defaults on repayments. The mechanism has practically run its course.