Abstract: European Union funding represents a key financial instrument for supporting sustainable development, territorial cohesion and the green transition across member states. Nevertheless, the effective use of these resources depends not only on their availability and absorption, but also on the institutional and administrative conditions under which they are managed. The aim of this study is to assess and compare the management of EU funding for sustainable development in Greece, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, with particular emphasis on the 2014-2020 programming period, while considering developments under the 2021-2027 framework where relevant. The analysis draws on secondary data from European institutions and relevant academic literature and considers financial absorption, administrative capacity, implementation efficiency, financial irregularities and institutional quality as interconnected dimensions of funding performance. The comparative findings indicate that high levels of financial absorption do not necessarily correspond to equally effective implementation or sustainable development outcomes. Differences among the four countries are associated with variations in administrative capacity, governance quality, public procurement and the ability of institutions to plan, implement and monitor EU funded interventions. The results underline the importance of moving beyond expenditure-based assessments of EU funding towards a broader evaluation framework incorporating the quality of implementation, financial regularity and measurable development outcomes. Strengthening administrative capacity, institutional coordination and accountability therefore remain essential for improving the contribution of EU funding to sustainable development.
Keywords: EU funding; sustainable development; cohesion policy; administrative capacity; institutional quality
Dimitrios Petropoulos, Nikolaos Apostolopoulos, Athanasios Makios[1]
JEL: Q01; H83; O19; O57
[1] PhD Candidate Athanasios Makios, Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Petropoulos, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Apostolopoulos, University of the Peloponnese: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]