THE EU WITHIN ITS BORDERS

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The European Union carries out actions to support, coordinate or supplement the action of Member States; as well as compensate for inequalities between them.

For this work, it focuses on a series of fields basic and entirely necessary for the development of a country, such as the protection and improvement of human health, technological advances in the industry, culture, tourism, education, civil protection and administrative cooperation.

The European Union takes hold of funds to carry out all these tasks. The funds are intended for those European regions with a GDP of less than 90% of the Community average.

Today the need of these funds Member States are Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the 12 new members incorporated since 2004.

The rest of the EU countries, which are above that 90%, pay a series of taxes to the Organization, part of which goes to these European funds.

The structural funds can be divided into four large blocks:

• European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF): it is the most important fund and it supports the construction of infrastructure and other related investments to create occupation. In addition, it is responsible for eradicating inequalities between the different regions of the Member States.

• European Social Fund (ESF): Fund to finance training for the re-employment of unemployed and other disadvantaged sectors; in addition to FP projects and training courses for young people with social problems or housewives.

• European Agricultural Rural Development Fund (EAFRD): funds programs of rural development and supports farmers in rural areas.

• European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF): formerly had the same function as the EAFRD.

• Instrument Finance for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG): since 2007 has been replaced by the European Fund for fisheries (EFF). Fund to finance the modernization of the fishing fleet and the economic diversification of the areas whose economy depends on this activity.

During the development of the course 2014-2015, our group of 3ºA has worked in the study of these funds along with our Social Science teacher. The project consisted of searching for signs of European funding all around our town, Coria; and the results were very surprising, since we are surrounded by them and, although initially we were not aware, we have been able to appreciate them thanks to the solidarity of the EU work in our region.

We found posters of all funds (ERDF, ESF, EAFRD) not only in Coria, but also in some surrounding villages.