31. 1. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 27/9 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 216/84 of 18 January 1984 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2616/80 instituting a specific Community regional development measure contributing to overcoming constraints on the development of new economic activities in certain zones adversely affected by restructuring of the steel industry THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro- pean Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 724/75 of 18 March 1975 establishing a Euro- pean Regional Development Fund(!), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3325/80 (?), and in particular Article‘13 (3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commis- sion (3), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (4), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Whereas Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 724/75 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Fund Regulation’) provides, independently of the national allocation of resources fixed by Article 2 (3) (a) of that Regula- tion, for participation by the Fund in financing spe- cific Community regional development measures which are in particular linked with Community poli- cies and with measures adopted by the Community, in order to take better account of their regional dimension or to reduce their regional consequences; Whereas, pursuant to that Article, the Council adopted on 7 October 1980 an initial series of Regu- lations instituting specific Community regional development measures and, in particlar, Regulation (EEC) No 2616780 (%) instituting a specific Com- munity regional development measure contributing to overcoming constraints on the development of new economic activities in certain zones adversely ) OJNoL73,21.3.1975, p. 1. ) OJ No L 349, 23. 12. 1980, p. 10. ) OJ No C 15, 19. 1. 1983, p. 10. ) 0 No C 184, 10. 6. 1983, p. 163. ) OJ NoC 124,9.5.1983, p. 2. ) OJ No L 271, 15. 10. 1980, p. 9. affected by restructuring of the steel industry, this measure being hereinafter referred to as ‘the specific measure’; Whereas, pursuant to that Regulation and in partic- ular Article 3 thereof, the Commission has approved special programmes relating to certain zones in Bel- gium and the United Kingdom and has at the same time decided to allocate appropriations to those programmes; Whereas the worsening problems in the steel indus- try require that the specific measure be extended to new zones in the United Kingdom, in France, in the Federal Republic of Germany and in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; whereas the Member States concerned have provided the Commission with information relating to regional problems which would be a suitable subject for a specific Com- munity measure; Whereas, in addition, the presence of excess capa- city in the steel industry is one of the basic causes of difficulties in this sector and the effort to reduce capacity which must be undertaken in accordance with the ‘General objectives for steel’ defined by the Commission is likely to affect regional employ- ment; ' Whereas, by Commission Decision No 2320/81/ ECSC of 7 August 1981 establishing Community rules for aids to the steel sector (7), it was laid down that aids to the steel industry can be considered as compatible with the orderly functioning of the com- mon market provided that ‘the recipient undertaking or group of undertakings is engaged in the imple- mentation of a systematic and specific restructuring programme’ and ‘the said restructuring programme results in an overall reduction in the production capacity of the recipient undertaking or group of undertakings’; . Whereas the Commission must rule on the requests concerning aid which are submitted in the framework () OJ NoL228,13.8. 1981, p. 14.