The Development of the 'Programme Approach' in the Common Regional Policy: An Evaluation of the British Experience

Abstract

The current European Commission proposals for amendments to the Regulation establishing the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) envisage major administrative and procedural changes in the operation of the fund. Such changes would involve, inter alia, a different method of providing financial support from the quota section of the ERDF, a significant increase in the size of the non-quota section and the consolidation within the Common Regional Policy (CRP) legislation of the provisions concerning integrated operations. Of all the changes envisaged, perhaps the most significant concerns the proposition that assistance from the quota section of the ERDF should, after a transitional period of three years, be replaced by the financing of multi-annual programme contracts. When added to the suggestion that European Community institutions would have a greater say in the way that ERDF assistance is applied, it is clear that these ideas would establish the programme approach as a fundamental element in both the CRP and the regional policy of member states. Given the potential significance of these proposals, this article explores the history of the programme approach to regional development, outlines the various forms it currently assumes and, on the basis of past experience and present proposals, assesses the prospects of its further consolidation within the CRP. While making reference to the situation in other EEC countries, the paper draws primarily from the British experience.