This BS`s thesis discusses the Cohesion Fund which provides financial contribution to large projects in the environment and transport infrastructure sectors in Member States with a per capita GDP of less than 90% of the European Union average. Slovenia, with its currently unstable economy, is eligible for funding. However, the application process – for co-financing approved by the European Commission – is anything but simple. The fact that more and more money, allocated for Slovenia, remains in Brussels attests to that.
For this purpose, I have designed a flow chart of the application process and interviewed some of its participants. I was interested in their role in the process, the problems they occur with and their possible solutions. The thesis also explores the strict regulation which defines the Cohesion Fund at the national as well as the European level and provides precise instructions as to the sequence of procedures and documentation required at different stages of the process.
Furthermore, to lend the thesis a more engineering touch, I have gathered data about an actual case within the development priority Environment Protection – Water Section – Reduction of Adverse Effects of Waters, namely the project “Flood protection measures in the Savinja River Basin”, and discussed the Savinja flood protection measures and problems encountered during the application process.
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