Funds Management: Cohesion Funds

The Cohesion Fund finances the public investment projects of the EU member States with GNP per capita below   90% of the communitary average (in terms of purchasing power parities), projects which are to improve   environment and integration into the trans-european transport networks.

It contributes, in general, between 80 and 85% of the subventionable costs of these projects.

Since being approved by the Maastricht Treaty, it has undergone different phases:

The Council Regulation (EC) 1164/94 of 16 March 1994 created the Cohesion Fund – with a previous   provisional cohesion financial instrument approved in March 1993 - with a grant for 15 billion ecus for the period   1993-1999 (since 1992); Spain has received, in current ecu, a 9.251 billion ecus grant, which is 55% of the   whole amount.

The Fund beneficiary Member States were: Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece.

For the period 2000-2006, a grant for 18 billion euros was approved with its different management aspects   having been modified, in particular, the communiatry policies and the national control reinforcement.

Since 2004 Ireland is no loger a beneficiary of the Fund. However, in May 2004, the new member states of the   European Union bacame beneficiaries of this Fund and these are: Bohemia, Cyprus, Slovaquia, Slovenia, Estonia,   Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta and Poland.

A new programmation period 2007-2013 management is being modified, adapting its actions to the operating   programmes.

Moreover, not only large transport and environmental infrastructers will be financed but also the energy   efficiency and the renewable energies projects as well as intermodal urban and collective transport.

More information: The General Direction of the Communitary Funds