A further reason why a new edition is required is that, since 1994, the background against which the Community Initiatives are implemented has changed in a number of important respects: the accession of three new Member States, a new Initiative for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, the allocation of the amount kept in reserve and new guidelines for some Initiatives.
Denne nye udgave er så meget mere nødvendig, som gennemførelsen af EU-initiativerne ind holdsmæssigt har gennemgået følgende betydelige ændringer: optagelsen af tre nye medlemsstater, et nyt initiativ for fred og forsoning i Nordirland, tildeling af reservemidler og nye retningslinjer for visse initiativer.