European Structural Funds Research Articles

University Science Parks as an Innovative Tool for University-Business Cooperation

Collaboration between universities, business and government is important in creating innovation, but often they face barriers which block the successful cooperation among institutional spheres. To improve and strengthen collaboration and overcome existing barriers were created hybrid organizations (like university science parks, research centres or incubators) to address innovation blockages. With the growing popularity of this tool among regional policy makers, there is a need to specify their roles and functions in regional innovation systems. The main goal of our paper is to examine the contribution of university science parks and research centres in Slovakia, which were built thanks to financial support from European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). University science parks (USPs) and research centres (RCs) are tools for connecting the university, industry and government sector in a Triple helix framework. They create a suitable space for generating innovation with existing resources at universities, research institutes, research departments of companies and governments, and improve them through mutual interactions. We applied the method of quantitative research – an online questionnaire survey complemented with interviews, which we used to collect basic data on all science parks in Slovakia. The key question in the article is whether research infrastructures represent effective investment with long-term sustainability. We evaluated the current functioning of the parks in terms of fulfilling the functions that contribute to innovation creation, because quality and modern infrastructure is a prerequisite for the implementation of research, the results of which have a high development and innovation potential. We found that the research infrastructure doesn’t perform the required functions, which were declared during their creation. The main barriers to development include insufficient funding for research, technological infrastructure and long-term financing of professional staff. Unclear conditions for the continued operation of parks and uncertain position of government support shows that these investment projects financed by the European Funds are not independently viable after the end of the sustainability period.

Maternal gender discrimination and child emotional and behavioural problems: A population-based, longitudinal cohort study in the Czech Republic.

SummaryBackgroundGender discrimination may be a novel mechanism through which gender inequality negatively affects the health of women and girls. We investigated whether children's mental health varied with maternal exposure to perceived gender discrimination.MethodsComplete longitudinal data was available on 2,567 mother-child dyads who were enrolled between March 1, 1991 and June 30, 1992 in the European Longitudinal Cohort Study of Pregnancy and Childhood-Czech cohort and were surveyed at multiple time points between pregnancy and child age up to 15 years. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered at child age 7, 11, and 15 years to assess child emotional/behavioural difficulties. Perceived gender discrimination was self-reported in mid-pregnancy and child age 7 and 11 years. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression of SDQ scores were estimated. Mediation was tested using structural equation models.FindingsPerceived gender discrimination, reported by 11.2% of mothers in mid-pregnancy, was related to increased emotional/behavioural difficulties among children in bivariate analysis (slope = 0.24 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15, 0.32], p<0.0001) and in the fully adjusted model (slope = 0.18 [95% CI: 0.09, 0.27], p<0.0001). Increased difficulties were evident among children of mothers with more depressive symptoms (slope = 0.04 [95% CI: 0.03, 0.05], p<0.0001), boys (slope = 0.26 [95% CI: 0.19, 0.34], p<0.0001), first children (slope = 0.16 [95% CI: 0.09, 0.23], p<0.0001), and families under financial hardship (slope = 0.09 [95% CI: 0.04, 0.14], p<0.0001). Effects were attenuated for married mothers (slope-0.12 [95% CI: -0.22, -0.01], p<0.05]. Maternal depressive symptoms and financial hardship mediated about 37% and 13%, respectively, of the total effect of perceived gender discrimination on SDQ scores.InterpretationPerceived gender discrimination among child-bearing women in family contexts was associated with more mental health problems among their children and adolescents, extending prior research showing associations with maternal mental health problems. Maternal depressive symptoms and, to a lesser extent, financial hardship both partially mediated the positive relationship between perceived gender discrimination and child emotional/behavioural problems. This should be taken into consideration when measuring the societal burden of gender inequality and gender-based discrimination. Moreover, gender-based discrimination affects more than one gender and more than one generation, extending to boys in the household even moreso than girls, highlighting that gender discrimination is everyone's issue. Further research is required on the intergenerational mechanisms whereby gender discrimination may lead to maternal and child mental health consequences.FundingBill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic and European Structural and Investment Funds.

Levelling Up and The Privileging of sub-national governance in England in the inter-Brexit space

Abstract Although the UK’s exit from the European Union – ‘Brexit’ – has overwhelmingly dominated the national political discourse since 2016 to the expense of nearly every other domestic issue, the policy agenda in the wake of this process is beginning to emerge. This paper examines this agenda, ostensibly supporting a programme of ‘levelling up’ which responds to the perceived root-causes of Brexit. In doing so, we consider the funding streams proposed by the UK Government – namely the Towns Fund, Shared Prosperity Fund and Levelling Up Funds – and examine the extent to which the rhetoric aligns with the reality of their allocation. In doing so, we also consider how, if at all, these schemes correspond to the European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) they are intended to replace. This paper examines this period of change to consider how the Brexit process is mirroring, and indeed entrenching, these processes of uneven development. We find that the early indications suggest that the UK government is proceeding with funding allocations in a way which can overlook places which meet the technical funding criteria, and therefore indicates political favouring is at play.

Estimating the impact of green ESIF in Romania using input-output model

This study develops one of the first estimates of the effects of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) in Romania, in the context of supporting the transition to a low carbon economy across sectors. Using the green Leontief Input-Output model for the Romanian economy, aggregated at the NACE Rev.2 economic sectors, the analysis decomposes the direct, indirect, and induced effects of ESIF on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, following data related to both completed and contracted projects in the programming period 2014–2020. The empirical results reveal the minor, but positive, impact of ESIF on environmental degradation. Green funds under ESIF lead to a reduction of 1.14 million tonnes in the GHG emissions. Larger effects are expected due to the contribution of projects still under development, estimated to reduce GHG emissions by 4.48 million tonnes. Based on the results, the main policy implications were evidenced, given the important role that the state has to play in resource allocation and ensuring the efficiency of funds dedicated to green transition.

Innovation in communication in the European funding process

Abstract European funds contribute to the well-being of communities that succeed in attracting this type of funding. This paper aims at revealing the innovative capacity of communication in the financing process through European Funds, given the multitude of theoretical communication models. Beyond the limits imposed by the law, public authorities involved in the European funding process, although operating within a relatively rigid regulated framework, may increase the number of communication methods and practices, in order to better fulfil their mission of satisfying public needs. An exploratory research on the financing process of European Structural and Investment Funds was conducted, considering the theoretical approaches in the field of communication, as well as the relatively low absorption rate of European Funds, for outlining the real dimensions of the communication problem. The communication was analyzed via eight elements: transmitter, receiver, channel or means of propagation, message, common codes (including coding and decoding), feedback, feedforward and noise. The main results show that the communication process in the field of European funding can be approached from a multitude of perspectives: type, purposes and means of communication, content of communication and its effects, the protagonists involved etc. The paper proposes an approach to communication from a marketing perspective. By applying specific marketing techniques, favorable attitudes, opinions and behaviors can be generated in terms of accessibility of financing through European funds. This can lead to an increase in the absorption rate of European funds, which can result in more innovation, more business growth, higher revenues (through taxes) for the public sector and finally, given the snowball effect, the ultimate purpose: welfare for society as a whole.

IgG N-glycome changes during the course of severe COVID-19: An observational study

SummaryBackgroundThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes a respiratory illness named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is one of the main global health problems since 2019. Glycans attached to the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG) are important modulators of IgG effector functions. Fc region binds to different receptors on the surface of various immune cells, dictating the type of immune response. Here, we performed a large longitudinal study to determine whether the severity and duration of COVID-19 are associated with altered IgG glycosylation.MethodsUsing ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of released glycans, we analysed the composition of the total IgG N-glycome longitudinally during COVID-19 from four independent cohorts. We analysed 77 severe COVID-19 cases from the HR1 cohort (74% males, median age 72, age IQR 25-80); 31 severe cases in the HR2 cohort (77% males, median age 64, age IQR 41-86), 18 mild COVID-19 cases from the UK cohort (17% males, median age 50, age IQR 26-71) and 28 mild cases from the BiH cohort (71% males, median age 60, age IQR 12-78).FindingsMultiple statistically significant changes in IgG glycome composition were observed during severe COVID-19. The most statistically significant changes included increased agalactosylation of IgG (meta-analysis 95% CI [0.03, 0.07], adjusted meta-analysis P= <0.0001), which regulates proinflammatory actions of IgG via complement system activation and indirectly as a lack of sialylation and decreased presence of bisecting N-acetylglucosamine on IgG (meta-analysis 95% CI [-0.11, -0.08], adjusted meta-analysis P= <0.0001), which indirectly affects antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. On the contrary, no statistically significant changes in IgG glycome composition were observed in patients with mild COVID-19.InterpretationThe IgG glycome in severe COVID-19 patients is statistically significantly altered in a way that it indicates decreased immunosuppressive action of circulating immunoglobulins. The magnitude of observed changes is associated with the severity of the disease, indicating that aberrant IgG glycome composition or changes in IgG glycosylation may be an important molecular mechanism in COVID-19.FundingThis work has been supported in part by Croatian Science Foundation under the project IP-CORONA-2020-04-2052 and Croatian National Centre of Competence in Molecular Diagnostics (The European Structural and Investment Funds grant #KK.01.2.2.03.0006), by the UKRI/MRC (Cov-0331 - MR/V027883/1) and by the National Institutes for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre and by Ministry Of Science, Higher Education and Youth Of Canton Sarajevo, grant number 27-02-11-4375-10/21.

INNOVATION AGENDA OF COHESION POLICY: CONTRADICTIONS IN IMPLEMENTATION AND THE WAYS TO RESOLVE THEM

Topicality. The aim of the Cohesion Policy, founded by the European Union (EU) in the 1980s, is to help peripheral regions lagging in terms of economic development to achieve higher growth rates than developed regions to establish economic balance. As specified by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the key factor for economic growth in a globalized, competitive environment is the ability to innovate. The EU's Lisbon Agenda, announced in 2000 in response to the challenges of globalization, aims to increase social and economic cohesion by making Europe the world's most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy. Since then, the innovation component has become a key element of EU cohesion policy, strengthening its competitiveness in a globalized environment.The formation of a cohesive state in the social, humanitarian, economic, environmental, security, and spatial dimensions is the first strategic goal of the State Strategy for Regional Development of Ukraine for 2021-2027. According to it the formation of regional economic systems should be based on “cohesion”, “competitiveness” and building effective “multilevel governance” principles. Stimulation of innovation should become a key direction in building competitive regional economic systems.At the same time, the practice of implementing EU cohesion policy on an innovation basis has revealed some "tension between competitiveness and cohesion goals", increasing the competitiveness of more developed regions, which is conditioned by their ability to benefit more from innovation than peripheral regions.Aim and tasks. The article aims to investigate the innovation agenda of cohesion policy, the contradictions of its implementation, and to substantiate the ways to solve them in Ukrainian realities.Research results. The innovation component of EU cohesion policy has evolved from measures to stimulate the production and cooperation activities of firms, including the establishment and innovation (2000-2006 budget period), the formation of regional innovation systems (2007-2013), the elaboration of smart specialization strategies for research and innovation, which have become a prerequisite for receiving financial support from the European Structural and Investment Funds for each region (2014-2020 and 2021-2027).Ukrainian regions show significant differences in levels of innovation development compared to European regions, as well as compared with each other within Ukraine. The achievement of “cohesion” and “competitiveness” goals outlined in the State Strategy for Regional Development of Ukraine for 2021-2027, on our opinion, may become possible only by moving away from the linear models and methodology that are based on redistribution mechanisms of cohesion policy and substantiation of policy mechanisms grounded on interactive models, such as activation of interregional innovation cooperation and formation of regional innovation ecosystems.Instruments to ensure the cohesion of Ukrainian regions with EU regions are considered. Particular attention is paid to the smart specialization platform instrument with an emphasis on the interregional innovation cooperation mechanism.Conclusion. Today, the thematic area of innovation is a key priority of the Cohesion Plan. The implementation of the innovation agenda in cohesion policy is a crucial and at the same time quite difficult task. The conflict between the goals of cohesion and competitiveness can be resolved only based on abandoning linear redistributive mechanisms in favor of interactive tools, one of which is to stimulate interregional innovation cooperation. Joining the regions of Ukraine to the EU's Smart Specialization Platform can be one of the effective tools for cohesion with European regions on an innovative basis.

The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan: coordination and conditionality

ABSTRACT As one of the greatest beneficiaries of the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) recovery package, and given its low past absorption capacity of European Structural and Investment Funds and lacklustre implementation rates of Country-Specific Recommendations within the European Semester, in 2022, Italy is at the centre of the attention of its European partners. What are the chances of success of the Mediterranean country, which has disproportionately suffered from the fallouts of the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic? The article tries to assess the odds by looking at the Italian case from two perspectives. First, it evaluates Italy’s past performance in light of the several modifications to the conditionality that underpins the NGEU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Second, it elaborates on the implications of the governance structure introduced by Mario Draghi’s government to implement Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The evaluation yields mixed results. Considering that several – but not all – aspects of EU conditionality have been strengthened, this may force Italy, as much as other member states, more closely to follow supranational recommendations. Yet, the risk that path-dependent shortcomings in the reform and absorption capacity of the country may prevail is great. Moreover, the new, very centralized governance structure may generate implementation problems, as sub-national actors have been somehow side-lined, against European advice.

Cohesion Policy as a Driver to Promote Good Governance in the EU Member States

The quality of public institutions has a major impact on the social and economic development within the EU member states. Regions with high government effectiveness, low corruption and highquality public services tend to have higher outcomes in economic performance and social inclusion. In case of EU cohesion policy funding, the Seventh Cohesion Report published by the European Commission in 2017 demonstrates that regions with weak institutions have difficulties in absorbing regional development influences effectively and using the European structural funds properly in order to promote growth. The European Commission has recently set out several initiatives to strengthen good governance and administrative capacity building to improve the management of the European structural funds. This paper will scrutinize whether the cohesion policy implies proper instruments to promote good governance.

EU funds as a catalyst of change for the Slovak healthcare system?

In the programming period 2007-2013, the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) invested €237 million in Slovak hospitals. We investigate whether this injection of additional funds has improved the quality of healthcare in the targeted hospitals. As a measure of quality, we use the readmission rate (ratio of readmissions within 30 days over total hospitalizations) and the mortality rate. Our results show a statistically significant but small effect of ESIF on the readmission rate but not on the mortality rate. We argue that these results suggest that the main problem in Slovak healthcare is low productivity rather than lack of funding.

The relation between the index of economic freedom and good governance with efficiency of the European Structural Funds

AbstractThis research evaluates the management efficiency of the European Structural Funds according to whether their productive orientation is based on employment or on economic and social development. The data refers to 2000–2020 for the 28 EU countries. The paper includes an analysis of the influence of the country's governance and economic freedom on the production function associated with the funds received. The results show that there is a technological gap between groups of countries defined by their goodness of governance. On the other hand, there is a positive relationship of economic freedom and the efficiency scores of the countries.

ФІНАНСОВІ ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ЕНЕРГОЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ЖИТЛОВОГО СЕКТОРА УКРАЇНИ

Ensuring the energy efficiency of Ukraine's housing sector are important elements in building an efficient economy and achieving sustainable development goals. These processes require significant funding, which is attracted through modern fi-nancial instruments. The aim of the article is to study the financial instruments for energy efficiency of the housing sector of Ukraine. The study used general scientific and specific methods, in particular: analysis and synthesis, theoretical generalization, comparative analysis, the method of scientific forecasting. Source base for financing measures to improve the energy efficiency of the housing sector of Ukraine is found out, in particular: bank loans, programs of international donor organizations; commodity loans from manufacturers of materials and equipment. Problems have been identified that hinder the financing of measures to improve the energy efficiency of residential buildings at the regional level, due to limited credit availability, lack of appropriate funding instruments and programs. Modern financial instruments for energy efficiency in the form of non-repayable financing, debt financing, partial financing or a combination of these options are analyzed. The world's leading experience in the use of innovative financial instruments has been studied. It was found that financial mechanisms and tools to ensure energy efficiency of the housing sector in the EU work through grants, soft loans, tax benefits, ESCOs, European structural funds. It is substantiated that the decisive role in solving energy efficiency issues in European countries is the state. It was found that the main traditional tool for ensuring energy efficiency in the housing sector of Ukraine is the provision of subsidies to households. It is substantiated that it is necessary to improve the mechanism of public funding in the energy efficiency of the housing sector, in particular the transition from subsidies to a more diverse portfolio of instruments. We believe that in Ukraine, in addition to traditional instruments for financing the energy efficiency of the residential sector, it is necessary to actively implement innovative ones: PACE (Property Assessment Clean Energy) program; On-bill finance; crowdfunding.

Public Support to Research and Innovation: Do European Resources Boost Innovation Outputs?

The paper analyses the financial indicators of 546 Slovak firms that received support from the European Structural and Cohesion Funds (ESCF) in the period of 2013-2015. Two support schemes were analysed: one for innovations (technology transfer) and another for R&amp;D grants. The research combines data from public and private resources. It applies the difference-in-differences (DiD) evaluation method along with the propensity score matching (PSM) technique. The research tests the hypotheses that (i) assistance from the ESCF improved the economic and innovation performance of the supported firms, and (ii) smaller firms transformed public support into innovation outputs more efficiently than did large enterprises. Both hypotheses are confirmed. The finding comes with some reservations concerning the efficiency of the support, grant-seeking behaviour, and the reliability of output indicators.

Прешовский самоуправляемый край и его международное сотрудничество

The regional self-government was established in Slovakia in 2001. Since then, it has been legally possible to carry out its own international cooperation. The Prešov self-governing region is one of the eight self-governing regions in Slovakia. It carries out various paradiplomatic activities, from establishing relations with foreign partners at various levels, to the highest level of cooperation – partner regions based on a cooperation agreement. The development of international cooperation of the self-governing region was influenced not only by the political situation, but also by national legislation and national government, as well as the geopolitical situation and integration processes, namely the accession of Slovakia and some neighboring countries to the European Union. The European Union is also linked to the European Structural and Investment Funds and other multifaceted support, such as cross-border cooperation, which encourages self-governing regions to cooperate mutually beneficial on a project basis. In terms of geography, the Prešov self-governing region borders with Poland and Ukraine. Therefore, the neighboring regions of these countries should be logical partners for cooperation, in terms of common history, culture, traditions, and the like. Nevertheless, political instability in Ukraine, but especially the Schengen border and differences in the legal and economic system initially hampered the development of functional cooperation with Ukrainian regions. Before and after Slovakia’s accession to the European Union in 2004, the Prešov self-governing region preferred cooperation with regions from European Union countries. Based on the intensity of cooperation in the form of joint projects and financial benefits, we can state that the most intensive cooperation has taken place and is taking place with the Podkarpackie Voivodeship and the Lesser Poland (Małopolskie) Voivodeship in Poland. In addition to pragmatic alliances with the regions of the old member states of the European Union, there are also historical and cultural alliances with the regions of the Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia and, due to the national and cultural specificity of the northeastern part of the Prešov self-governing region, with Vologda Oblast of the Russian Federation. The article focuses on selected aspects of international cooperation of the Prešov self-governing region and provides a legislative, organizational and management overview of international cooperation of the self-governing region and an overview of partnership cooperation of the Prešov self-governing region.

The Evaluation of European Funds in Portugal

This article presents a study on the evaluation of the main Cohesion Policy instrument in European Portugal, the European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF). The institutionalisation of the evaluation of European funds in public administration is analysed from a documentary base composed of national and EU legislation (1986-2020), focusing on the actors and the evaluation rules. The production of these empirical data reveals a dual process of implementation of the evaluation policy of European funds in the indirect administration of the state, where increasing technocratisation of the evaluation represents new constraints to funding.

ОЦІНКА ПОЛІТИКИ ЗГУРТУВАННЯ ЄС В УМОВАХ ПАНДЕМІЇ: СТРУКТУРНО-ГАЛУЗЕВИЙ АСПЕКТ

The paper is devoted to analysis of the EU cohesion policy, assessment of its elaboration and implementation to decrease regional disproportions in the EU member states and regions. There is a focus on modern instruments of assistance under the pandemic as a reaction to social and economic challenges. The cohesion reports of the European Commission are discussed. Econometric analysis provided an evidence for efficiency of the cohesion policy at the NUTS-2 and NUTS-1 regions level. Conclusions on its effects on economic structure and development of the regions are provided. The most vulnerable types of regions and industries are determined. Assistance from the European structural and investment funds in some areas was stabilizing instrument, which smoothed recession under the pandemic.

ТРУДОВА МІГРАЦІЯ УКРАЇНЦІВ ДО РЕСПУБЛІКИ ПОЛЬЩА 2014–2022 рр.

The purpose is to analyze the evolution of the migration policy of Ukraine and Poland since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 and in the conditions of the aggravation of migration flows after the Russian large-scale invasion in February 2022. Among the methods, a systemic method was used to study the Polish economic thought regarding the profitability and prospects of attracting Ukrainian labor resources, a comparative analysis of the results of Ukrainian labor migration was also conducted, taking into account the requirements of Polish laws. The position of Poland regarding changes in the direction of Ukrainian migration flows has been analyzed. It has been proven that for Ukrainian citizens, the Republic of Poland remains a country where it is possible to implement social and economic expectations. Official Warsaw provides tangible assistance to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia, providing jobs for migrant workers and social protection for their family members. The deterioration of Ukraine’s security and foreign economic situation is pushing for more active development of the Polish labor market. Currently, the Polish border has become a border against the hybrid expansion of the Russian Federation, so it will be necessary for official Kyiv to ensure the stability and flexibility of its own monetary policy and permit system in order to preserve the possibilities of reproduction of production processes It has been concluded that Polish economists hold a picture that the liberalization of the Polish migration policy towards Ukrainians will contribute to the steady growth of the economy. Recommendations have been made that active steps taken by official Warsaw regarding the growing interest in Ukrainian labor resources would lead to the implementation of vital steps taken by the Polish government to protect against aging tendencies of the Polish nation. It has been highlighted that the implementation of Ukrainian migration policy is dependent on Russian, European and Polish strategies. Under the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Polish policy of facilitating the obtaining of legal residence rights and employment of Ukrainian citizens is encouraged by the Ukrainian authorities as an opportunity to receive remittances from abroad, therefore official Kyiv seeks to gain the experience of Poland to attract and use European structural, regional and industry programs and funds. Therefore, Ukraine and Poland, in cooperation with European structures, are able to promote a new quality of security against hybrid attacks of the Russian Federation with the aim of preserving and sustainable development of their own economies and the economies of partners.

An international analysis of fraud detection in European structural and investment funds

An international analysis of fraud detection in European structural and investment funds

TOWARDS EFFECTIVE PROJECT DOCUMENTATION, TRANSPARENCY, AND DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING THROUGH BIM-BLOCKCHAIN BASED APPLICATIONS

Abstract. Even in the context of increasing digitisation, the construction sector continues to be characterised by redundancy, multiplication and, at the same time, a lack of transparency and disaggregation of data and information, leading to ineffective management of the time, costs and quality of the project life cycle. This paper shows the results of the development of an ICT application, TRL 4-5, based on the integration of Building Information Modeling and blockchain technologies and designed to foster digitisation processes in the supply chain, in the direction of greater transparency of information flows, knowledge-based organisations and decision-making processes based on unambiguous ordered data. Starting from a broader industrial research collaboration, the project involves a university spin-off, companies operating as system integrators and leaders in the customisation of BIM solutions for the Italian construction market. The project, launched as part of a network of public and private stakeholders established in 2019 and developed between September 2020 and March 2021, is part of a territorial development strategy financed by European Structural Funds. As a result, the research output is a prototype of ICT tool, which implements the Common Data Environment, CDE, making the life cycle management unambiguous, certified and clear. In this regard, the results of the project are meant to respond to the supply chain's need to encourage the digitisation and automation of processes, as well as to encourage the acquisition of unambiguous data, according to a big data approach.

Distributing the European structural and investment funds from a conflicting claims approach

In order to support economic development across all European Union regions, €351.8 billion –almost a third of the total EU budget– has been set aside for the Cohesion Policy during the 2014–2020 period. The distribution of this budget is made through five main structural and investment funds, after long and difficult negotiations among the EU member states. This paper analyzes the problem of allocating the limited resources of the European Regional Development Fund as a conflicting claims problem. Specifically, we attempt to show how the conflicting claims approach fits this actual problem, and we propose alternative ways of distributing the budget via (i) claims solutions or (ii) the imposition of bounds (guarantees) to each of the regions. By applying this approach we also show that there is a claims solution that performs better than the others by reducing inequality and promoting convergence to a greater degree. It is clear that political bargaining will always be part of the allocation process. However, having an intuitive initial proposal may help politicians to find the best agreement. To that effect, we propose the use of a claims solution as a way to find an initial proposal for future policy changes concerning the allocations of the EU structural funds.