The aim of this article is to show through the comparative analysis, the basic characteristics of regional policy, or the policy of support to the development of less developed areas in our country compared to the regional policy of European Union, with an accent on the instruments for implementation of that policy. Without putting accent on different starting positions for those two development policies, what is for sure the main reason of differences in realized results, the experiences of European Union can be in any case useful and instructive for Serbia as a country with a task of rationalization and establishment of an effective regional policy being a necessity in the forthcoming period.