ABSTRACT
The landmark reforms of the Structural Funds in 1988 are widely considered to be the turning point that institutionalised Cohesion policy as a core EU policy for regional development. This chapter reviews each of the reform episodes in turn, beginning with the landmark reform of 1988. The mid-to-late 1980s represented a new era' for the Union's regional policy. Led by its new President, Jacques Delors, the Commission attached major importance to the upgrading of Cohesion policy with a bold aim: to transform what was perceived to be a weak budgetary transfer mechanism into a genuine regional development tool. The Single European Act came into force in 1987 with the aim of completing the internal market by 1992. The Delors-I package' initiated the process by setting out reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy, Structural Funds, the financing rules and budgetary resources. The Maastricht Treaty on European Union was signed in February 1992 and came into force in November 1993.
