ABSTRACT
The Structural Funds (SFs) as the instrument for the European Union’s cohesion policy were redefined in terms of their rules and regulations in 1988 and began financing the Regional Operational Programmes (ROP) in 1989. The SF’s main target is Objective 1 regions, defined as those whose development is lagging behind, i.e. where the Gross Domestic Product per capita is at or below 75 per cent of the European Community average. From the beginning there have been significant differences between regions in implementing their Funds allocation and in respecting the principles that regulate cohesion policy. During the last decade in many EU countries it has emerged that states with weak administrative capacity are more likely to have serious problems with the mismanagement of SFs, or even with accessing them. This chapter aims to explore conditions under which SFs have been successful in other EU member states and what has failed in the Italian case. In order to identify the best practises which allow some member states and regions to perform better I will analyse four main dimensions which appear fundamental for SFs successful implementation, namely: (i) the actors that are involved in the SFs process; (ii) the context in which the implementation is performed; (iii) the rules and procedures that underpin SFs implementation; (iv) the political context.
