2.

The Commission and the Member States shall seek to ensure that assistance is genuinely concentrated on the areas most seriously affected and at the most appropriate geographical level. The population of the areas referred to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed 18 % of the total population of the Community. Accordingly, the Commission shall lay down a population ceiling for each Member State on the basis of the following factors: the total population in the NUTS III areas of each Member State which meet the criteria referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6; the severity of the structural problems at national level in each Member State as compared with the other Member States concerned. Such severity shall be assessed on the basis of total unemployment and long-term unemployment outside the regions eligible under Objective 1; the need to ensure that each Member State makes a fair contribution to the overall concentration effort as defined in this subparagraph; the maximum reduction in the population covered by Objective 2 shall not exceed one third compared to the population covered by Objectives 2 and 5b as set out in Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88, in 1999. The Commission shall provide the Member States with all the information it has available about the criteria set out in paragraphs 5 and 6.

← 1. · All articles · (a) →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-08 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.