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Breweries, bakeries and brides: Where Italy invested its EU billions

Bridal dress manufacturers had been one of several astonishing recipients my name is earl russian bride of EU structural funds. Office of Public Affairs/Flickr

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The EU promised the south of Italy billions to advertise research and innovation, but, as EURACTIV Germany reports, the funds ended up being used on some projects that are strange…

just What execute a bridal use socket in Puglia, Fiat, mobile provider Telecom and a Calabrian cinema all have as a common factor? The solution is very easy: EU funding support that is structural.

Between 2007 and 2013, Brussels pumped around Ђ6 billion in to the south of Italy, cash that has been designed to support “research and innovation tasks when you look at the four parts of Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Campania”, therefore as promote “social and financial development”.

Around Ђ300,000, plus an additional Ђ100,000 of money from Rome, had been supplied to your Calabrian city of Marzi, into the toe of Italy. The little settlement is the hometown of leading cinematographer Mauro Fiore, whom took house the Oscar this year for their focus on the greatly successful movie Avatar.

To capitalise in the success of the many son that is famous Marzi proposed to create a centre for cinematography and filmography. The cash arrived, however the centre that is cultural couple of years past its proposed construction date, continues to be perhaps perhaps perhaps not finished.

However it is not merely a concern of if the building will likely be finished, more basically, it really is a concern of whether Marzi would really benefit economically from the centre.

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The European Parliament will necessitate a growth towards the EU budget today (6 July), for 2014-2020. Aided by the refugee crisis, faltering investment and high youth jobless, they usually have no shortage of persuading arguments. EURACTIV France reports.

It isn’t the only example of odd uses of EU cash, as demonstrated by Italian mag Le Scienze, which completed a report beneath the name European Funds, Italian secrets.

Analysis into how EU funding is in fact utilized in the south yielded some results that are curious. Cash meant to market research and innovation fundamentally wound up supporting, amongst others, bed and morning meal owners, automobile washes, mattress manufacturers, breweries, your retirement domiciles, bakeries, mills, bridal use outlets, furniture makers and mineral water bottlers.

Additionally, it is not uncommon, in line with the research, that the jobs under consideration is not evaluated, given that funds are delivered to one-man operations without any connection that is internet they truly are registered at details that don’t exist.

Le Scienze additionally unearthed that major banking institutions, universities and companies that are large-scale like Fiat, have actually benefitted through the financing. Eventually however, the good aftereffects of the funds in many cases are not obvious.

Eligibility requirements, how a billions are evaluating and distributed the way the funds are employed are perhaps perhaps not the obligation regarding the European Commission. Rather, it will be the Italian federal government, through its education, research and financial development ministries that decide. Whenever Le Scienze offered those authorities the chance to answer its findings no response had been forthcoming.

Relating to German MEP Inge GrдЯle (EPP), that is seat associated with the Parliament’s that is european Committee Budgetary Control, the EU just partly verifies the tasks. GrдЯle added that Italy, among the founding users associated with the EU, has frequently fallen foul of EU budget execution guidelines throughout the last 2 full decades.

Mediterranean embraces eco start-ups

Within the Mediterranean area, environmental and initiatives that are sustainable being started by revolutionary people. it really is hoped their company methods and efforts will trickle-down to culture it self. EURACTIV’s partner El Paнs – Planeta Futuro reports.

At the conclusion of 2013, the institutions that are european on a reform of structural funds when it comes to 2014-2020 period, underneath the leadership of then Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn. The contract had been “a big advance on the path to providing the EU the mandatory tools to strengthen the European economy,” said Hahn during the time.

Structural capital totals some Ђ325 billion, with cohesion funds at the top; Ђ80 billion happens to be made readily available for research and innovation.

One of several main improvements made by the reform is the fact that user states must now make it clear just what goals and objectives have already been accomplished through the capital, in addition to being obligated to determine implementation progress.

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