"The European Union has a strategy to reduce disparities between the regions of Europe. It allocates specific budget for this goal, through funding instruments know as the ‘European Structural Funds’. The Structural funds constitute over 35% of EU budget, the equivalent to 43 billion euros annually ... Once the global amount of the Structural Funds has been agreed between a country and the European Commission, it is the responsibility of each Member State to make use of them, establishing specific aims and objectives." (Quoted from article)