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Why individuals identify with Europe? In the absence of direct personal experiences with the EU and with people of other member states, how can the identification with the European project be developed? Despite the great number of EU competences, legislation and policy programmes, they are mostly implemented by member states. Are these EU policies amplifying citizens’ exposure to the idea of the EU? And finally, are citizens aware of the aims and perceive the benefits of the Cohesion Policy? If so, does it contribute to strengthen the shared political values under the European Social Model and, consequently, is it a driver of the identification with Europe? Giving answer to these questions is the main objective of this deliverable.&nbsp

This report focuses on investment in eight EU Member States and their lagging regions. Additionally, the analysis assesses the regional development strategies of the eight Member States and evaluates the main investment needs and complementary alternative support options of the lagging regions over the next ten years. The analysis is performed in two steps. The first step identifies the investment needs of the lagging regions from the countries' own as well as from a European perspective. It analyses to what extent and in what form investments in the lagging regions have to be supported in order to satisfy the needs. The identification of investment needs is approached from two sides, a) the countries' own assessments of investment needs and b) a comparative analysis of the lagging regions with more prosperous EU-28 regions that had similar economic development characteristics as the (Southern) lagging regions. The second step analyses the main national and regional investment trends over the last 10-15 years, and covers different types of investment, depending on whether they are seen from a National Accounts, European or international perspective. An annex is available here: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/204198

This report is an annex to wiiw Research Report 423, 'Economic Challenges of Lagging Regions III Recent Investment Trends and Needs'. Based on spatial econometric methods, it provides estimates and simulations of the investment effects on economic development in the EU lagging regions. It also provides additional data related to the analysis in wiiw Research Report 423. The full report is available here: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/204195

Europos Sąjungos struktūrinės paramos panaudojimas Lietuvoje yra plačiai analizuotas, tačiau mažai kam žinoma reali ES struktūrinės paramos panaudojimo Lietuvos švietimo sektoriuje tendencija. Taigi, tampa aktualu išsiaiškinti, kuriose švietimo srityse, veiksmų programose bei apskrityse buvo vykdoma daugiausia projektų, skirtų ES struktūrinei paramai gauti, The use of the structural support of the European Union in Lithuania has been analysed in detail, however a few know the real tendencies of using the EU structural support in the education sector of Lithuania. Therefore, it is of relevance to find out in which fields of education, action programmes and counties the greatest number of projects were implemented to get the structural support of the EU.

This thesis builds on the topic of my bachelor thesis which dealt with the use of EU funds in Luhačovice and the analysis of specific projects that were successfully completed. This piece of work introduces us to two major subsidies that have been recently implemented in this particular city. It is based on the reconstruction of two streets named Jurkovičova alej and Dr.Veseleho, which are the two very important historical aspects of the city. In addition to the characteristics, costing models and final evaluation, a questionnaire for the local residents has also been developed and evaluated. This research tells us if in fact the residents of Luhačovice are aware of the changes going on and how they perceive them. Their opinions of the effectiveness of the use of subsidies were also recorded. In the conclusion, we can find various numerical comparisons over the years, in particular when the city began to use EU funds and an outline of the possible developments in the near future.

Croatia has a steady and profitable mariculture market, yet it’s freshwater aquaculture production faces many challenges due to outdated technology and sensitivity to external factors. The €73 million in structural funds which have been delegated to the Croatian aquaculture sector over the period 2014-2020 are meant to improve and modernize the industry. Some investments are wiser than others, however. Recirculating aquaculture systems ought to be the first type of technological investment, as they reduce production time, minimize environmental impact, provide year-round steady work, and most importantly, produce fish at high yields. The impact of increased production can be calculated in terms of volume, revenue, savings in water and land use, as well as implications of providing increased employment. This paper examines why investment in Croatia’s aquaculture sector is necessary, and the benefits that recirculating technology provides. Potential yields in volume, domestic market values, and export values of previous years are calculated along with savings in water and land use, had recirculating technology been in use for carp and trout, which compoeses 96% of freshwater aquaculture production volume.

The aim of this paper is to explain major management roles in a process of fund raising for projects financed from structural EU funds, mainly structural EU funds and referring to the procedures for Croatia. It will elaborate the path of how EU policies are conducted from the strategical documents to the project and what is the role of project managers in the process.

The concept of “Roma exclusion” has come to dominate political discussions about the marginalization of the largest ethnic minority. Placed at the center of the European Union political agenda, it recognized that Roma poverty has multiple and interrelated causes, which require multifaceted policy responses. Nevertheless, while the concept has acquired strategic connotations, by stressing socio-economic processes it has remained open to different interpretations. These are influenced by political perceptions of Roma identity and minority rights, as well as domestic policy approaches to equality. The pivotal instability in the discourse concerns the question of whether exclusion is a characteristic feature of contemporary European societies or a living condition visited on particular individuals and ethnic groups. This article critically examines the discourse on Roma exclusion adopted in the framework of European cohesion policy. Building on implementation and equality scholarship, it argues that every postulated solution has built into it a particular representation of what the problem is, and it is these representations and their implications that need to be discussed as potential causes of policy success or failure. The article presents key findings from the empirical investigation of Structural Funds (SF) programming (2007–2013) implemented in two convergence regions (Andalusia and Eastern Slovakia), which confirm that domestic discourse shapes the scope and quality of SF Roma inclusion projects.