Analysing How Environmental Concerns are Integrated in the Design of the EU Structural Funds Programmes

Abstract

This paper analyses the environmental measures co-financed by the European Union (EU) Structural Funds in the less-developed regions. Specifically, it studies if these environmental measures are tailored to the specific needs of the different regions and whether they are driven by an ecological modernization approach. The inclusion of environmental goals into the regional policy is also tested by analysing its connection with the main European environmental directives. We find a suitability of the regional programmes to the regional specific environmental factors, a scarce presence of the ecological modernization paradigm behind the programmes implementation and a clear orientation of the regional programmes to meet the EU legislation.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the financial support of project ECO2012-36532 (Spanish National R&D Plan).

Notes

1. These complementary documents, in the original language of every country, are the only ones containing the concrete measures implemented and, as a result, were the only source from which to build our database.