Summary
Around thirty five percent of the European Union’s (EU) budget is spent developing the environmental, transport, tourism, medical, and information and communication technology infrastructure in the less developed areas of the 27 EU Member States. Grants from the Structural and Cohesion funds and loans from the European Investment Bank are the main instruments used to further the EU economic development policy. The new EU Structural Funds amount to € 308 billion for its 27 Member States for 2007-2013. This report is designed to help U.S. companies better understand the process by which projects are funded and financed in the EU, and consequently to maximize the chances of participating in these projects.