The legal basis for the Operational Programme is provided in Council Regulation (EC) 1083/2006 laying down the general provisions of the ERDF, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund. This states that actions taken by the Community under Article 158 of the Treaty "shall be designed to strengthen the economic and social cohesion of the enlarged Community in order to promote the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of the Community. This action shall be taken with the aid of the Funds, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other existing financial instruments. It shall be aimed at reducing the economic, social and territorial disparities which have arisen particularly in countries and regions whose development is lagging behind, to the speeding-up of economic and social restructuring, and to the aging of the population." Pursuant to Article 160 of the Treaty the ERDF shall contribute to the financing of assistance towards the reinforcement of economic and social cohesion by redressing these main regional imbalances.
This Operational Programme covers the period 2007 to 2013 and has been developed in accordance with the General and the ERDF (note 7) Regulations, and in particular, takes account of the requirement to prepare an Operational Programme, as specified in Article 32 of the General Regulation and as described in Article 37.
(Note 7) Regulation (EC) 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5th July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund and repealing regulation (EC) 1783/1999 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_210/l_21020060731en00010011.pdf
