POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET Essay

POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET - Essay Example 195 billion budget was prepared by the European Union for the purpose of Structural Funds from the period of January 01, 2000 to December 21, 2006. This allocation of the budget was used in different sectors, especially the transport sector, and poorer regions of the continent were supported and integrated with different developing schemes of these structural funds. On the other hand, the budget for the Cohesion Fund was allocated to the amount of 18 billion, which was also used for different schemes and allocations in the European Union. (Halkier, 2004) In this regard, the major amount of the European Union's funding is spent on the Structural Funds, and the bulk of European Union's funding is made up these structural and cohesion funds. In addition, the Common Agricultural Policy is also included in the bulk of European Union's funding along with the abovementioned funds. (Artis, 2006) The areas and regions of the European continent, which are under the pressure of various difficulties are helped and supported by the European Union's Structural Funds. The decline of the local European industry could be the reason of these difficulties. Else, reduction of farm incomes due to the reduction in commodity prices could also be responsible for the lacking of resources to these regions. (Evans, 1999) In the result, sponsor projects are helped and supported by these structural funds, by which, locally identified needs would be addressed directly by it. Some of the sponsor projects that are fun by the structural funds are credited to train local people with different skills, which may help them in building their careers, or help them in setting-up their new businesses. Mainly, there are two objectives of the European Union's Structural Funds. Firstly, the regions with lack of development are enhanced and advanced by the adjustment of structural funds, which help in promoting development in these areas. Mostly, the lagging-behind areas are supported in the first objective of the European Union's Structural Funds. Secondly, local areas that are found to be facing structural difficulties are converted socially and economically by the support of these structural funds. The social and economic conversion is done in such a way that areas are provided with different developing opportunities, which help them in developing and advancing themselves and their areas. (Evans, 1999) Another objective was regarded in the structural funds of the European Union. In this regard, education, employment, as well as, the training systems and policies of the European regions are adapted and modernized by the support and coordination of the structural funds and their different planning and implementation of different projects in these areas. In all these three objectives, the transport sector has been specifically given a significant importance in the funding of these structural funds by the European Union. However, outside the specific areas of the first objective of the structural funds, the fisheries sector is also being restructured by the implementation of a special scheme. In addition, the European Union is witnessing the implementatio