With discussions of a full internal market within the EC finally reaching fruition, and regular intergovernmental talks advancing the ideas of economic, monetary and perhaps eventually political union, economic and social cohesion has become a major objective of Community policy.

Regional disparities remain a hard fact of Community life. Although there has been money available since 1975 to promote regional development and training in the poorer parts of Europe, it is likely that without serious reform of the Structural Funds these disparities could accelerate. There has been...