We can criticise it, blame it, sometimes attack it; but the European Union continues to represent the greatest opportunity the Old Continent has ever had in modern history.

Besides promoting peace and protecting member states, the Union embodies one of the main sources of financial resources for the member nations.

Investments and non-repayable loans are planned annually and provide significant support for building infrastructure, improving security and promoting sustainability.

The Cohesion Fund

One of the EU’s main funding means is the Cohesion Fund, which provides support to member states with a gross national income per capita of less than 90 per cent of the average of all 27 nations. The aim is to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion.

The investments supported are part of the environmental sector and trans-European transport infrastructure networks.

The funded programmes are the shared responsibility of the European Commission and the national and regional authorities of the Member States.

For the period 2021-2027, the Cohesion Fund covers many eastern states, such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia.

For the same period, the EU resources allocated to the fund amount to approximately EUR 37 billion, about 10 per cent of the total EUR 392 billion allocated to cohesion policy.

The European Regional Development Fund

Cohesion policy also includes the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), also designed to boost development and support cohesion in the Union.

In this case, the primary objective is to correct the imbalances between European regions, encouraging investments that lead to a transition that makes Europe better: smarter, greener, more connected and closer to its citizens.

Once investments are planned, moreover, Europe hardly ever backs down.

In 2023, for example, of the 308 billion euro planned to be spent, 303 billion were actually spent.

The NextGenerationEU

Then there is the temporary instrument devised by the European Union to repair the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The allocated funds break through the 800 billion euro mark.

The core of the NextGenerationEU is the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which offers grants and loans to support reforms and investments in EU Member States. Hence the Italian acronym PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), Italy’s document that defines how Italy spends part of the funds received.

In order to receive the projected figures, Member States drew up ad hoc national plans, outlining how they intended to invest the funds.

The financial architect: the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB), consisting of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, is the financial arm of the European Union.

The task is to mobilise public and private investment in support of EU policies and priorities.

Since its foundation in 1958, the European Investment Bank has invested more than EUR 1 trillion, financing projects in strategic sectors for a constantly evolving Europe.

Concrete examples of European funding

Across the Old Continent, among the 27 Member States, one can find a large number of infrastructure and strategic projects financed, in part or in full, by the Union.

Those listed are significant examples of the success of such economic policies.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal

The longest bridge in Europe, at 17.2 km the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon is one of the most important works co-financed by the European Union.

The work dates back to 1998, the year Portugal was the protagonist of Expo ’98.

The European Cohesion Fund allocated EUR 328.6 million, contributing to the strategic connection between the country’s capital and the northern and southern areas, as well as to the redevelopment of a former industrial area.

Funding for Hungarian transport

Hungary, a member of the European Union since 2004, is among the countries considered Eurosceptic . Critical and often confrontational attitudes have characterised Hungarian politics, bringing out a growing anti-European rhetoric that has challenged some of the fundamental values of the Union.

Among those responsible is undoubtedly Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary. Since 2022, numerous political scientists have converged to declare the Hungarian political regime an ‘electoral autocracy’.

More recently, the European Parliament emphasised that Hungary is a ‘critical area‘ due to the progressive deterioration of the rule of law.

Despite this, funding over the years has been substantial, making Eurosceptic Hungary the largest recipient of European structural funds.

In 2013, a three-year investment programme amounting to EUR 250 million, made available by the European Investment Bank, was established to rehabilitate and improve Hungary’s railway infrastructure.

The Cohesion Fund also allocated more than EUR 218 million in 2019 for the construction of the M8 motorway, which will connect Hungary with Graz, Austria.

Important investments that underline, despite everything, the indiscriminate European support for all its members.

• Calafat-Vidin Bridge in Romania and Bulgaria

European support for development in the East was decisive.

The two countries, which joined the EU on 1 January 2007, had long been considering the construction of a new bridge across the Danube to follow the one built in 1954.

The project has become a reality thanks to funding from the European Commission, amounting to approximately EUR 106 million.

The construction of the bridge was not only intended to facilitate trade and transport, but also to revitalise one of the poorest and most difficult areas of the Union.

Over the past 15 years, Romania and Bulgaria have benefited from substantial European funds for the economic development of the region and the improvement of connections. No pair of states in the region has received more (EUR 231 million) from the 2014-2020 Interreg Programmes.

The expansion of Riga Airport, Latvia

Latvia was also particularly supported by the European Cohesion Fund, which co-financed the development and modernisation of Riga Airport in 2011 and 2016, respectively.

Since the EU intervened, the airport’s annual traffic has risen to around 5 million people.

In Latvia, the modernisation of infrastructure, railways and economic structures is still in progress, thanks also to continuous European funding opportunities.

The new tram line in Petržalka, Slovakia

Completed in the course of 2025, the new tram line in Petržalka – a town in Bratislava – aims to improve the quality and attractiveness of public transport.

For years, the approximately 100,000 inhabitants of the city have always relied on buses for their mobility. The new line relieves the pressure on the buses, redistributing the influx of people over several vehicles.

Also connected to this is the renovation of the Starý Mos bridge, which will allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Danube.

Of the EUR 67 million cost of the work, the European Cohesion Fund contributed EUR 63 million, about 95 per cent of the total expenditure.

The Brenner Base Tunnel, Austria and Italy

The Brenner Tunnel is a project still under construction, which underlines the great financial commitment of the European Union.

It is scheduled to open in 2032 and work has been in progress since 2007.

The infrastructure will connect the village of Fortezza in Trentino with Innsbruck, the capital of North Tyrol, via the Brenner Pass.

The European Union has so far made EUR 2.3 billion available and also increased the co-financing percentage for construction work from 40% to 50%. The remaining 50% of the costs are borne equally by Austria and Italy.

Tangible support

As these examples show, the support provided by the European Union for concrete projects that can improve people’s daily lives is capital.

Billions of euros are spent every year to renew, sustain and make more and more competitive a Europe that is now constantly threatened by other world powers, such as the United States or China.

In a world where evolution can be felt exponentially, it is crucial to provide the appropriate support to all 27 EU states: strength and unity are the must-haves for tomorrow’s Europe. Getting crushed and being unprepared for the future is a possibility that no one can afford any longer.