Judgment_paragraph 3 · Achilleion Anomymi Xenodocheiaki Etaireia v Elliniko Dimosio (C-313/22)

3Recitals 4, 6, 7 and 41 of Regulation No 1260/1999 stated:(4) … in order to increase the concentration and simplify the operation of the Structural Funds the number of priority objectives should be reduced as compared with [Council] Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 [of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (OJ 1988 L 185, p. 9)]; … those objectives should be redefined as promoting the development and structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind, economic and social conversion of areas facing structural difficulties and adapting and modernising policies and systems of education, training and employment;…(6) … Whereas cultural development, the quality of the natural and the man-made environment, the qualitative and cultural dimension of life and the development of tourism contribute to making regions economically and socially more attractive in so far as they encourage the creation of sustainable employment;(7) … the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is the primary contributor to attaining the objective of promoting the development and structural adjustment of the regions whose development is lagging behind and economic and social conversion of areas facing structural difficulties;…(41) … in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the rules on eligible expenditure should be the relevant national rules where there are no Community rules, although they may be laid down by the [European] Commission where they are clearly needed for the uniform and equitable implementation of the Structural Funds across the Community; … however, the starting and closing dates for the eligibility of expenditure should be defined and it should be stipulated that investment projects may not undergo major modification; … consequently, in order to ensure the efficiency and durable impact of the Funds’ assistance, all or part of the assistance from a Fund should remain attached to an operation only where its nature or its implementation conditions do not undergo a substantial modification which would result in diverting the assisted operation from its original objectives’.