Originally the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Union was founded in 1950 by six countries – Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Italy.  The main aim was to unite European countries economically and politically, to establish enduring peace and prosperity.  The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights binds all EU activities, under six main headings – dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens’ rights and justice.  The EU now consists of 28 Member States – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.  The population is 508 million (2012).

The MFF is the EU’s spending plan for the 2014-20 period.  It provides a framework for financial programming and budgetary discipline, prescribing the maximum annual expenditure which the EU may spend in different political fields.  The main headings are: smart and inclusive growth; sustainable growth; citizenship, freedom, security and justice; the EU as a global partner; administration; and compensations.  Each heading consists of different programmes and funding instruments.

The EU currently has over 35 different programmes under its financial plan for the 2014-20 period (MFF), making financial support available to a wide range of beneficiaries – public bodies, workers, students, private enterprises, researchers,  innovators, voluntary organisations and more.

The Cohesion Policy is the main investment tool in the Member States, its regions and cities, targeting the wide EU goal on economic, social and territorial cohesion.  Its three main Funds – the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) (i.e. the two Structural Funds) and the Cohesion Fund – are used to finance policies in different areas: regional and urban development, employment and social inclusion, education, energy and environment, amongst others.  

€351.8bn are allocated for Cohesion Policy 2014-20.

The Cohesion Policy (economic, social and territorial cohesion) represents only 33% of the EU Budget. The EU also finances programmes on competitiveness for growth and jobs (12%), such as the Horizon 2020 (for R&D), the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME), the Erasmus+, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the European satellite navigation systems (Galileo and EGNOS).  

Another major part (42%) is allocated to sustainable growth programmes on natural resources, including the EAFRD and EAGF (common agricultural policy), the EMFF (maritime and fisheries) and the Life+ (environment and climate) programmes.  

The remaining funds are shared between the global Europe policies (6%, including humanitarian aid, pre-accession assistance, common foreign security policy), security and citizenship policies (1.6%, including Asylum and Migration Fund, Creative Europe programme, Internal Security Fund) and the general administration for the functioning of the EU (6.4%).

These are five Funds supporting the Cohesion Policy, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).  The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) (together known as "the Structural Funds") and the Cohesion Fund (CF) finance the policy for the economic, social and territorial cohesion, while the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) respectively support agricultural and fisheries actions.  

Most organisations from the 28 EU Member States can apply, including public bodies, private enterprises and voluntary organisations, as long as they meet pre-set criteria.  Funding is generally granted for projects that meet the eligibility criteria of the call for proposals.  Contracting needs to follow European public procurement rules. 

The EU has committed to invest through simpler procedures that are more focused on achieving results rather than absorbing the money. So there is an EU-wide drive to make it easier for any type of entity to benefit from the Funds.

However, applicants are still expected to attain desirable standards before being granted any form of Funds. Authorities would need to assess the eligibility and quality of the project proposals and their relevance to the EU and national strategies. So the quality of the application form is essential in securing an agreement of funding with the European Commission or national/local authorities.

After award of grant, Beneficiaries are then expected to deliver the results agreed upon in the grant/assistance contract, observing sound financial management principles and the horizontal regulations and guidelines.

Funds are generally forwarded to the Beneficiary only upon agreed stages of completion of the project.

Organisations in countries which are candidates or potential candidates for EU accession may be assisted through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.