Heading Wrong
EU Cohesion Policy to the Detriment of the Climate and Environment
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The financial framework to 2013 behind the European Union’s cohesion policy was a unique opportunity to lead new member states in Eastern Central Europe towards an environmentally friendly path of development. But analysis of the EU fund and the member state’s plans shows that only a small fraction of the subsidies are going to energy efficiency, renewable energy and ecologically sustainable mobility. The traffic sector ranks among the fastest growing causes of greenhouse gases. In spite of this, the EU is investing in road and highway construction and thus undermining its own efforts to bring about a turnaround in climate and traffic policies.
(Osteuropa 4-5/2008, pp. 177–188)