The EU structural funds in the 10 new member states: How they were implemented in the 2004-06 period

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the key characteristics of Structural Funds implementation in the 10 New Member States during the 2004-2006 period. The paper introduce the basic information about the Structural Funds, explore the Structural Funds implementation in the individual countries, and at the end it compares and summarizes findings. The main goal of this paper is to introduce Structural Funds and explore how the New Member States utilized them. What were their priority areas for the observed period? How much money individual countries were allocated? How much money they were able to absorb? The Structural Funds are important for the regional development. They fund investments, innovations, and support policies and measurements which should help countries to develop. And because the 10 New Member States were, at the time of accession, less developed than the other Member States, I decided to take a look what opportunities the NMS had in order to improve their situation.