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.
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.