A book on “The Thematic Funds of the European Union an Opportunity for the Italian Regions” was presented at the European Parliament in Brussels on 25 February. Coordinated by PORE (“Project Opportunities of the Regions in Europe”), an agency run by the department of regional affairs under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, this is the first book/research project at the EU level to analyse the participation of the Italian and European Regions in so-called thematic funds, in other words the funds provided by the Commission through public competitions. The research embodied in the book, coordinated by PORE in collaboration with the Roma Tre University, presents the data relating to the participation of regional agencies in programmes of technological research and development, environment, education and culture, transport and energy for the period 1999-2002. It is calculated that a quarter of these funds are allocated to the “winning” projects following participation in competitions held by the Commission. So, thematic funds says the book are assuming ever greater importance, also in view of the fact that the quota of structural funds allocated to current EU member states will significantly decrease from 2007.
