(1)

Pursuant to Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 the Convergence objective aims at speeding up the Convergence of the least developed Member States and regions.

(2)

Pursuant to Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 the regions eligible for funding from the Structural Funds under the Convergence objective shall be regions corresponding to level 2 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Statistical Units (hereinafter NUTS level 2) within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) whose per capita gross domestic product (GDP), measured in purchasing power parities and calculated on the basis of Community figures for the period 2000-2002, is less than 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-25 for the same reference period.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 specifies that the NUTS level 2 regions which would have been eligible for Convergence objective status under Article 5(1) of that Regulation had the eligibility threshold remained at 75 % of average GDP of the EU-15, but which lose eligibility because their nominal per capita GDP level will exceed 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-25, measured and calculated according to the same Article 5(1), are also eligible, on a transitional and specific basis, for financing by the Structural Funds under the Convergence objective.

(4)

It is necessary to establish the lists of eligible regions accordingly,