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EC Regional Policy and the Evolution of the Structural Funds

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Book cover The Construction of Europe

Abstract

It might be expected that the reliance on the market system upon which the European Community is based would allow little scope for implementation of regional policy. In a strict market system, economic advantages or disadvantages resulting from geographical factors and natural resource endowments would be regarded as given, factors upon which private competition and public policy were to be based, not as targets for policy action. Consistent with this viewpoint is the argument thatl

the provisions of the [EC] Treaty forbidding discrimination are concerned with discrimination artificially brought about by measures taken by Governments or other persons in positions of power. Those provisions are not designed to suppress competitive advantages enjoyed by particular undertakings owing to their geographical location or other natural factors.

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Evans, A., Martin, S. (1994). EC Regional Policy and the Evolution of the Structural Funds. In: Martin, S. (eds) The Construction of Europe. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8368-8_3

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