“The Commission and the Member States: The Evolution of Regional Policy”

Wozniak, Jennifer R. (1999) “The Commission and the Member States: The Evolution of Regional Policy”. In: UNSPECIFIED, Pittsburgh, PA. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The evolution of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the primary mechanism of the European Union’s (EU’s) regional policy, provides an excellent vehicle for investigating European integration. While regional economic disparities have been a concern of the EU since its inception in 1952, it was not until 1975 that the EU created the ERDF to reduce economic disparities between regions within and across member states by disbursing grants for infrastructure and industrial development. In 1975, the ERDF was largely controlled by the member states: each state was guaranteed a certain percentage. Subsequent reforms of the ERDF have shifted political control to the EU by eliminating the quota system and granting the Commission increased discretion over the management and distribution of funds. In addition to manifesting varying levels of integration over time, the ERDF involves actors at the national, supranational and subnational levels and impacts upon a variety of sectors, including agriculture, transportation, industry and high technologies. By examining the 1979, 1985, and 1989 reforms of the ERDF, I hope to ascertain the agenda and tactics of the European Commission with respect to the ERDF, and thereby, shed light on the process of integration.

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