Cohesion Policy

Slovakia has missed the opportunity to use the EUR 14 billion of Cohesion spending to transform its largely monopolistic, heavily state influenced energy economy with its high dependence on imported fossil fuels and high carbon intensity.

EU funds could do a whole lot more to help the transformation to an efficient sustainable energy system in Croatia if the country adopts an effective strategy to get there, argues our research co-ordinator, Pippa Gallop.

Hungary allocates a relatively high amount of EU Funds to energy but an in-depth analysis shows a lack of direct, non-refundable support in renovation of residential buildings, significant finance for burning instead of preventing waste and potentially unsustainable use of biomass.

While Estonia plans to use a large part of its EU funds investments for infrastructure projects in the public sector, there is no real political will to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

The millions of EU Cohesion Policy money are choosing the 'darker side' of Latvia's renewable energy sources.

The Czech Republic’s EU funds’ documents tick all the formal boxes, but the carbon intensity of its economy will most likely not change much.

Billions of euros of European funds will be invested in Poland between 2014 and 2020 under the heading of sustainable development and climate action. But without sound strategies and political will to decarbonise its economy, Europe’s biggest coal addict is set to waste the transformative potential of EU money – and Brussels is letting it happen.

The new member states from Central Europe misuse the EU funding aimed at decarbonising their energy systems.