In response to the evolution of the world economy and its impact on Europe, the European Commission proposed a set of programmes to boost jobs, growth and investment across the European Union. The programmes are part of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020. This publication guides you through these programmes and the funding opportunities they offer are briefly described here in this booklet. Detailed information is available on the European Commission's website. EU funding opportunities prove the added value of the EU budget in a number of fields, from research, employment, regional development and cooperation to education, culture, environment, humanitarian aid and energy, among many others. Significant support is available to small and medium-sized businesses, non-governmental and civil society non-profit organisations, young people, researchers, farmers and public bodies, to name a few.

This open access book deals with Article 7 TEU measures, court proceedings, financial sanctions and the EU Rule of Law Framework to protect EU values with a particular focus on checks and balances in EU Member States. It analyses substantive standards, powers, procedures as well as the consequences and implications of the various instruments. It combines the analysis of the European level, be it the EU or the Council of Europe, with that of the national level, in particular in Hungary and Poland. The LM judgment of the European Court of Justice is made subject to detailed scrutiny.

The proximity of the European Union, the prospect of membership, and actual entry by the New Member States (NMS) increased economic and financial integration in the region, leading to fast economic growth based on sizeable capital inflows. EU membership helped in developing sound macroeconomic and financial stability frameworks in the NMS. However, these frameworks remain work in progress and as such could not safeguard against private sector exuberance or risky policies, especially in the face of an unprecedented global financial crisis. Hence, more prudent policies and further strengthening of policy frameworks, especially with respect to financial stability, seem warranted.

This book examines new member states’ problems with the absorption of EU funds. Since accession, many new member states from Central and Eastern Europe struggle to access their billions of development funds from Brussels. While existing research mostly emphasizes the role of states’ administrative capacities to account for absorption problems, this study adds the so far neglected role of politics as party politicization to the equation. The argument is tested using a combination of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) with two detailed process tracing case studies. This book will appeal to scholars interested in EU cohesion policy, post-accession compliance, and post-communist politics.

The only comprehensive text available for advanced study and professional reference, this book brings much needed clarity to both the theoretical and practical aspects of EU intervention. Integrating both theoretical and practical research in a clear and accessible structure, covering economic, social and territorial issues European Cohesion Policy provides a systematic view of the various stages of the whole policy cycle, looking in detail at: the evolution of the problems the design of the policy system the implementation in practice the evaluation of effects . An authoritative analysis of the problems and debates involved, European Cohesion Policy is essential reading for students, policy makers, development workers and researchers working in all aspects of European policy.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315401867, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. This book brings together academics, members of European institutions, and regional and national level policymakers in order to assess the performance and direction of EU Cohesion policy against the background of the most significant reforms to the policy in a generation. Responding to past criticisms of the effectiveness of the policy, the policy changes introduced in 2013 have aligned European Structural and Investment Funds with the Europe 2020 strategy and introduced measures to improve strategic coherence, performance and integrated development. EU Cohesion Policy: Reassessing performance and direction argues that policy can only be successfully developed and implemented if there is input from both academics and practitioners. The chapters in the book address four important issues: the effectiveness and impact of Cohesion policy at European, national and regional levels; the contribution of Cohesion policy to the Europe 2020 strategy of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; the importance of quality of government and administrative capacity for the effective management of the Funds; and the inter-relationships between institutions, territory and place-based policies. The volume will be an invaluable resource to students, academics and policymakers across economics, regional studies, European studies and international relations.