Envoyer à un ami

Imprimer

Ajouter à mon dossier

In 1957, the authors of the Treaty of Rome defined the mission of the European Community as promoting the harmonious development of economic activities in all the Member States and an accelerated raising of the standard of living. This objective was to be achieved by establishing a large market based on the free circulation of goods, people and capital. However, there are many economic and social disparities within the Union.

Since the passing of the Single Act (1986), the task of reinforcing European economic and social cohesion has become the corollary of Europe without borders. In 1988, the Member States decided to double the funds allocated for structural expenditure and to concentrate the action of various Structural Funds on the pursuit of five objectives, on the one hand, developing specific problem zones (Objectives 1, 2 and 5b) and, on the other hand, combating particular problems (objectives 3, 4 and 5a).

The Structural Funds for the European Union (EU) are contributing towards the balanced development of the different regions of the Union by supporting projects implemented by European operators (enterprises, local authorities, associations, etc.). There are four European Structural Funds:

• the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): a financial instrument that allocates subsidies to local actors within the framework of development programmes set up in partnership between the European Union, the Member States and the local authorities;

• the European Social Fund (ESF): a financial instrument that seeks to improve the skills of the workforce and to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit;

• the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund (EAGGF): a financial instrument that supports agricultural markets and helps develop the rural sector;

• the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG): a financial instrument that aims to achieve the objectives of the common fisheries policy and to reinforce the economic and social cohesion of the coastal regions.

As regards the objectives pursued by the Structural Funds, Objective 1 (which has been active in Hainaut, which is a region in difficulty) has helped create enterprises and jobs by enabling certain enterprises to extend their activities thanks to investment subsidies and the development of centres of excellence.