No L 350/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 12. 85 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3637/85 of 17 December 1985 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2619/80 instituting a specific Community regional development measure contributing to the improvement of the economic and social situation of the border areas of Ireland and Northern Ireland THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3634/85 of 17 December 1985 on the establishment of specific Community regional development measures in 1985 (%), and in particular Article 1 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (?), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia- ment (}), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Whereas Article 48 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1787/84 of 19 June 1984 on the European Regional Development Fund () provides that, subject to the appli- cation of Article 45 thereof, Regulation (EEC) No 724/75 (%), including Title III relating to specific Commu- nity measures, is repealed ; whereas, however, Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3634/85 provides that the Council may, until 31 December 1985, in accordance . with the provisions of Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 724/75, institute .specific Community measures on the basis of proposals submitted by the Commission before 31 December 1984 ; Whereas the said Article 13 provides for participation by the Fund in financing specific Community regional deve- lopment measures ; whereas the Council has stated its willingness to examine, within this framework, on a proposal from the Commission, any requests for aid relating to border problems in the most deserving regions of the Community submitted jointly by two or more Member States concerned ; Whereas, under the said Article 13, the Council adopted on 7 October 1980 Regulation (EEC) No 2619/80 (), () See page 6 of this Official Journal. () OJ No C 70, 18. 3. 1985, p. 4. and OJ No C 258, 10. 10. 1985, p. 8. () OJ No C 229, 9. 9. 1985, p. 135. (Y) Opinion delivered on 25/26 September 1985 (not yet pu- blished in the Official Journal). () OJ No L 169, 28. 6. 1984, p. 1. (9 OJ No L 73, 21. 3. 1975, p. 1. () OJ No L 271, 15. 10. 1980, p. 28. which instituted a measure heremafter referred to as a ‘specific measure’; Whereas, pursuant to that Regulation and in particular Article 3 thereof, the Commission has approved special programmes relating to certain border areas in Ireland, on the one hand, and Northern Ireland on the other, and has at the same time allocated appropriations to those programmes ; Whereas the' Member States concerned have provided the Commission with information on regional problems which might be the subject of a specific measure and whereas, taking account of the extent of difficulties both economic and in terms of employment, the specific measure in force should be extended to those zones parti- cularly concerned by these problems and should be supplemented by new provisions ; Whereas the encouragement of small and medium sized undertakings (SMUs) could be accelerated by allowing them better to adapt their production potential, in parti- cular through investment aids, and by facilitating access to innovation and risk capital ; Whereas economic promotion in the zones concerned should be further stimulated by especxally active manage- ment of the public aids and services available, particularly those provided for under the special programme and whereas, to this end, there is a need to establish or extend services responsible for informing existing or potential undertakings of the availability of such aids and services and to help those undertakings to take advantage of - them Whereas the natural gas supply and consumption in some of these areas located in Ireland could, while enabling the economic development base of these areas to be rein- forced, contribute to the realization of Community energy pollcy objectives by reducing dependence on oil, by increasing security of energy supply through diversifica- tion of energy resources, and by improving the balance of trade of the Member State concerned ; Whereas, to this effect, necessary infrastructure operations should be provided for with'a view to increasing the avai- lability of natural gas through the development of trans- port and distribution networks and through feasibility studies, as well as a package of measures intended to stimulate the use of gas in the industrial and service sectors, comprising consultancy aid and technical assis- tance, aid for the promotion of consumer awareness and aid to investment in SMUs;