About: structural funds

Poland and Germany call for swift negotiations to conclude EU budget

Germany and Poland are pressing for EU budget negotiations to be concluded as quickly as possible. For Poland, the primary beneficiary of the EU's cohesion policy, there is a great deal at stake. Germany hopes the negotiations will finish before it takes over the EU presidency next July. EURACTIV Germany reports.

In Sète, EU funds help stop coastal erosion

A redevelopment project co-financed by the ERDF in the commune of Sète (France) aims to mitigate erosion which threatens the site. The fund contributes to projects on sensitive issues in the area by the Mediterranean, such as maritime pollution and sustainable tourism. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Commission official: ‘Bioeconomy is a unique opportunity to address societal challenges’

More and more member states are adopting bioeconomy plans and the EU is actively encouraging its Central and Eastern European partners to develop their own strategies. EURACTIV Slovakia talked to the Commission’s John Bell about the issue.

Brexit must not cost Wales ‘a single penny’, warns First Minister

Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones insisted Friday (24 June) that Cardiff be fully involved with the negotiations to come, and that the Principality should “not lose a penny”.

Commission will provide food and medical aid to Greece

The European Commission may not be one of Greece's creditors, but the Vice-President for Budgets has said it will not stand idly by and watch the crisis unfold. EURACTIV France reports. 

Juncker: Christmas has come early, here is my big plan

“I promised to present an ambitious Investment Plan before Christmas. One month later and Christmas has come early – I am here to deliver on my promise”, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told MEPs, presenting his €315 billion investment plan.

Tight EU budgets usher in new era of efficient spending, innovative finance

SPECIAL REPORT / When there is less money, the only way to cope is to spend it better and more efficiently. This is the age-old principle behind Brussels' approach to the next EU budget, for 2014-2020.

Experts mull ways to make Italy better use of structural funds

Regional funds can bring big benefits to the European economy, but for over two decades Italy has wasted the opportunity to restructure, experts said. EURACTIV Italy reports.

EU suspends funding to Hungary over weak controls

European Union funding to Hungary has been temporarily suspended over failings in the country's financial control systems, but there was no evidence of fraud, a European Commission official said yesterday (14 August).

Hollande seeks to defuse European Parliament time bomb

French President François Hollande positioned himself as a promoter of growth and solidarity and tried to woo MEPs on the EU's long-term budget as he spoke to the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday (5 February). EURACTIV France reports.

EU suspends €890m for Polish roads pending fraud probe

The European Union has frozen about €890 million in aid earmarked for building Polish roads because of a suspected fraud by contractors, a Commission spokeswoman said on Wednesday (30 January).

An EU budget for recovery and Europe’s citizens

The next long-term budget for the EU must recognise cities’ potential for playing a much greater role in the economic recovery and therefore the urgent priority for investment in urban Europe, writes Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.

Clock is ticking for Romania suspended funds

Romania has two months to react to a warning from the European Commission, which has identified serious problems in the country's anti-corruption procedures in the implementation of programmes in the field of transport, regional development and competitiveness, a spokesperson said today (26 October).

Romanian PM seeks to speed up use of EU funds

Romanian Prime Minister Mihai R?zvan Ungureanu is due to visit Brussels today (15 March) to lobby for help in spending €6 billion in EU structural funds to boost the country's flagging economy. EURACTIV Romania contributed to this article.

Greece asks for support to absorb EU regional aid

Athens will need technical assistance to ramp up its capacity to absorb EU regional funding, the Greek Minister for Development, Competition and Shipping, has told the European Parliament.

Scientist-MEP: ‘If necessary, divert cash from agriculture to research’

Portuguese MEP Maria da Graça Carvalho (European People's Party) is calling for more structural funds to be used for research in a new report to be discussed at a Parliamentary workshop later this month. She is a firm believer that Europe needs to spend more on science and research to emerge from its current economic malaise.

Parliament eyes EU regional money to boost research

The European Parliament is considering plans that would push EU countries to spend a third of their regional funds on research infrastructure – increasing the budget on science and innovation beyond that reserved in the upcoming research programme for 2014-2020.

EU cohesion reform burdened by debt rules

The European Commission has unveiled yesterday (6 October) its blueprint for the next generation of EU cohesion funds after 2013, under which it will be able to suspend funding if member states flout budget rules or breach the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact. 

Unleashing the potential of Central and Eastern Europe

As the budget debate begins, cohesion policy remains critical to creating the infrastructure that Central and Eastern European EU members need to unleash their full potential for growth and convergence with the rest of the Union, argues Hendrik Bourgeois of General Electric.

EU to sugar Greek pill with ‘nation-building’

As the euro zone continues to dangle the carrot of further aid to a Greek economy hammered by debt, EU leaders on Thursday (23 June) endorsed a European Commission proposal to clean up the country's public sector using EU structural funds.

India sees EU as a model for ‘even’ development

India's relations with the European Union currently remain a predominantly bilateral affair between New Delhi and London, Paris or Berlin. But Indian politicians believe the EU is a model from which they could seek inspiration from when it comes to evening up development across its regions. EURACTIV reports from New Delhi.

EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

The cohesion policy (or regional policy) of the European Union provides a framework for financing a wide range of projects and investments with the aim of encouraging economic growth in EU member states and their regions. The policy is reviewed by the EU institutions once every seven years. The next round of programmes is to be launched in 2014.

German MEP ‘reinvents’ regional policy funds

MEP Michael Theurer, the German liberals' spokesman on regional issues in the European Parliament, is demanding an urgent reworking of structural and cohesion funds. EURACTIV Germany reports.  

Poland warns of ‘wars’ over EU long-term budget

Poland warned cuts in the European Union's budget were not on the agenda of a summit of EU leaders on 16-17 December, during which the UK is expected to ask for a 25% reduction in the EU's long-term spending for 2014-2020.