Article 4

Under the Convergence objective, the ERDF shall focus its assistance on supporting sustainable integrated regional and local economic development and employment by mobilising and strengthening endogenous capacity through operational programmes aimed at the modernisation and diversification of economic structures and at the creation and safeguarding of sustainable jobs. This shall be achieved primarily through the following priorities, the precise policy mix depending on the specificities of each Member State: research and technological development (R&TD), innovation and entrepreneurship, including strengthening research and technological development capacities, and their integration into the European Research Area, including infrastructures; aid to R&TD, notably in SMEs, and to technology transfer; improvement of links between SMEs, tertiary education institutions, research institutions and research and technology centres; development of business networks; public-private partnerships and clusters; support for the provision of business and technology services to groups of SMEs; and fostering of entrepreneurship and innovation funding for SMEs through financial engineering instruments; information society, including development of electronic communications infrastructure, local content, services and applications, improvement of secure access to and development of on-line public services; aid and services to SMEs to adopt and effectively use information and communication technologies (ICTs) or to exploit new ideas; local development initiatives and aid for structures providing neighbourhood services to create new jobs, where such actions are outside the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006; environment, including investments connected with water supply and water and waste management; waste-water treatment and air quality; prevention, control and fight against desertification; integrated pollution prevention and control; aid to mitigate the effects of climate change; rehabilitation of the physical environment, including contaminated sites and land and brownfield redevelopment; promotion of biodiversity and nature protection, including investments in NATURA 2000 sites; aid to SMEs to promote sustainable production patterns through the introduction of cost-effective environmental management systems and the adoption and use of pollution-prevention technologies; prevention of risks, including development and implementation of plans to prevent and cope with natural and technological risks; tourism, including promotion of natural assets as potential for the development of sustainable tourism; protection and enhancement of natural heritage in support of socio-economic development; aid to improve the supply of tourism services through new higher added-value services and to encourage new, more sustainable patterns of tourism; investments in culture, including protection, promotion and preservation of cultural heritage; development of cultural infrastructure in support of socio-economic development, sustainable tourism and improved regional attractiveness; and aid to improve the supply of cultural services through new higher added-value services; transport investments, including improvement of trans-European networks and links to the TEN-T network; integrated strategies for clean transport which contribute to improving the access to and quality of passenger and goods services, to achieving a more balanced modal split, to promoting intermodal systems and to reducing environmental impacts; energy investments, including in improvements to trans-European networks which contribute to improving security of supply, the integration of environmental considerations, the improvement of energy efficiency and the development of renewable energies; education investments, including in vocational training, which contribute to increasing attractiveness and quality of life; investments in health and social infrastructure which contribute to regional and local development and increasing the quality of life.

← art_3__para_2__text_2 · All articles · art_4__text_1 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-02 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.