Pursuant to Article 158 of the Treaty, in order to strengthen its economic and social cohesion, the Community aims at reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions or islands, including rural areas.
(2)
Pursuant to Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, strategic guidelines on economic, social and territorial cohesion should be established to define an indicative framework for the intervention of the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (hereinafter ‘the Funds’), taking account of other relevant Community policies, with a view to promoting the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of the Community.
(3)
Enlargement results in a substantial widening of regional disparities in the Community, although some of the poorest parts of the new Member States have some of the highest growth rates. Enlargement therefore presents an unprecedented opportunity for improved growth and competitiveness in the Community as a whole which should be reflected in these strategic guidelines.
(4)
The 2005 Spring European Council confirmed that the Community should mobilise all appropriate national and Community resources — including the cohesion policy — in pursuit of the objectives of the renewed Lisbon agenda, which consists of integrated guidelines, including the broad economic policy guidelines and the employment guidelines adopted by the Council.
(5)
In meeting the objectives set out in the Treaty, and in particular that of fostering real economic convergence, the actions supported with the limited resources available to cohesion policy should be concentrated on promoting sustainable growth, competitiveness and employment having regard to the renewed Lisbon agenda.
(6)
The purpose of these strategic guidelines should therefore be to foster an increase in the strategic content of cohesion policy with a view to strengthening synergies with, and helping to deliver, the objectives of the renewed Lisbon agenda.
(7)
The Spring European Council of 2005 concluded that greater ownership of the objectives of the new Lisbon agenda on the ground was necessary, involving regional and local actors and social partners, in particular, in areas where greater proximity is essential, such as in innovation, the knowledge economy and the new information and communication technologies, employment, human capital, entrepreneurship, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and access to risk capital financing. These strategic guidelines recognise the importance of this involvement.
(8)
These strategic guidelines should also recognise that the successful implementation of cohesion policy depends on macroeconomic stability and structural reforms at national level together with a range of other conditions which favour investment, including effective implementation of the internal market, administrative reforms, good governance, a business-friendly climate, and the availability of a highly skilled workforce.
(9)
Member States have developed national reform programmes to improve the conditions for growth and employment taking account of the integrated guidelines. These strategic guidelines should give priority, for all Member States and regions, to those areas of investment that help to deliver the national reform programmes taking account of national and regional needs and situations: investment in innovation, the knowledge economy, the new information and communication technologies, employment, human capital, entrepreneurship, support for SMEs or access to risk capital financing.
(10)
The strategic guidelines should take account of the role of cohesion policy in delivering other Community policies consistent with the renewed Lisbon agenda.
(11)
In the case of regions and Member States eligible for support under the Convergence objective, the aim should be to stimulate growth potential, so as to achieve and maintain high growth rates, including addressing the deficits in basic infrastructure networks and strengthening institutional and administrative capacity.
(12)
The territorial dimension of cohesion policy is important and all areas of the Community should have the possibility to contribute to growth and jobs. Accordingly the strategic guidelines should take account of investment needs in both urban and rural areas in view of their respective roles in regional development and in order to promote balanced development, sustainable communities and social inclusion.
(13)
The European territorial cooperation objective has an important role to play in ensuring the balanced and sustainable development of the territory of the Community. The strategic guidelines should contribute to the success of the European territorial objective which depends on shared development strategies of the territories concerned at national, regional, and local level and on networking especially to ensure the transfer of ideas to mainstream national and regional cohesion programmes.
(14)
With a view to promoting sustainable development, the strategic guidelines should reflect the need to take environmental protection and improvement into account in preparing national strategies.
(15)
Equality between men and women and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation are basic principles of cohesion policy and should be incorporated into all levels of the strategic approach to cohesion.
(16)
Good governance is essential at all levels for the successful implementation of cohesion policy. These strategic guidelines should take account of the role of a broadly drawn partnership in the elaboration and implementation of development strategies which is necessary in order to ensure that complex cohesion strategies can be managed successfully and of the need for quality and efficiency in the public sector.
(17)
These strategic guidelines represent a single indicative framework which Member States and regions are invited to use when developing national and regional programmes, in particular with a view to assessing their contribution to the Community's objectives in terms of cohesion, growth and jobs. Taking account of these strategic guidelines, each Member State should prepare its national strategic reference framework and the resulting operational programmes,
