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The European Union project initially started as a peaceful solution for war reconstruction in Europe. European countries decided to cooperate rather than compete in an aggressive way. At the beginning, this project supposed (involved) market liberalization, trade barriers removals, market access improvement (initially for coal, steel, energy and, later, for all goods, services, workforce and capital). Unfortunately, in the last decades, all these Single Market facilities have been backed by redistributive schemes, protectionist mechanisms, social engineering, subsidies and facilities packed in so-called "EU policies". New "European" institutions have been created, more and more funds have been involved to financially support this very complex redistributive intervention. The political dimension of the European Union project enhanced the economic dimension and constantly suffocated private markets and the economy. The "incomes" of the European Union that fuel its financial support are coming from taxes and/or inflation (better administered after the introduction of a Single Currency - the Euro). This paper will discuss the relevance of European Funds for economic development, especially for new members in this project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note argues that one should lay the focus of future European growth policy on integration and technology. This focus should be on maximising the growth effects of their interaction, with an emphasis on the importance of deep integration. The note provides three examples that show how deep integration has contributed to stop the relative economic decline in the UK vis-à-vis the EU founding members; how deep integration increased productivity in Sweden, Austria, and Finland compared to that in Norway; and how a key mechanism to advancements in the new EU member states has been the capacity of deep integration to generate institutional change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]