Which “EU Project” are we talking about?

Whenever I see somebody using the term “EU project”, I sense a degree of naivete. They definitely mean a project funded by the EU, the European Commission to be correct. But the Commission has different mechanisms for financing projects that serve the concerns of the EU, and the spectrum is very wide in terms of objectives and target groups.

Why would the EU finance a project to begin with? EU is not a charity organisation or an award-giving body. No matter how brilliant a project idea is, it may not concern the Commission a bit.

It should be made clear that, “free shooting” is not an option to receive funding from the Commission. ?You have to wait for a Call (or tender for contracts) to be published. But beforehand you have to be prepared, crystalise your project ideas, communicate with potential partners and even make a budget estimation. Although it may not be easy to find your way out, there are online information resources that can guide you to be prepared for a specific call.

Before we try to come up with a project idea while waiting for a call to be published, let’s try to understand why the Commission is willing to spend EU taxpayers’ money for a project. I can come up with three basic motivations.

1.?????Reducing global disparities

2.?????Improving cohesion among member states (and sometimes with accession/associate countries) and their citizens.

3.?????Supporting research and technological development.

Fighting global disparities is important to avoid conflicts and migration. Contrary to the bad old days, peace means more business and prosperity in the global economy.

Cohesion among member states can range from harmonisation of infrastructure to improving acquaintance among communities. There is no need to explain the benefits of seamless motorways or power lines across state borders. Linking interest groups located in different geographies with each other is also important. “Critical mass” is an important concept here. Creative industries can only flourish if we have a critical number of talented people from different backgrounds. You cannot gather a winning football team, a successful symphony orchestra, or the staff of a profitable factory in places with small populations. We have to be crowded to be competitive. People should get together, be mobilised, and learn from each other to grow and prosper (and, needless to say, to compete with other agglomerations of communities located in farther geographies). ?

Having means for supporting research and innovation is based on an obvious concern. World Trade Organisation prohibits governments to grant subsidies to businesses as an attempt to promote fair global competition, except for Research and Technological Development. A car manufacturer can not receive public funding for operations or new investments but can use public financing to develop a new model or research new technology. Gathering individuals and institutions with different roles and backgrounds is also a matter of concern in this type of support as “critical mass of people” is again crucial for developing technology.

To conclude, the chances of financing your project from the EU budget are higher if your project directly addresses at least one of the concerns above.

I am aware that some of the arguments above are open for discussion but my intention here is to make my point as simple as possible to give a basic idea about the background of EU funding to beginners.