Spain and the European Union Term Paper

grants would also be offered under revitalization measures and for the support of local enterprises either small or medium, and improve the company's access to finances and to credit, giving direct aid to certain investments, etc. (Structural Funds) Cohesion Funds are those granted to those states that are lagging behind in terms of economic development concerning areas like transport and the environment so that their chances of integration into the Economic and Monetary Fund are not spoiled. The funds granted under this Cohesion fund are to be used for the development and implementation of projects in the field of the maintenance of the environment and the field of transportation. The beneficiaries, generally, are those authorities, public or private, who are responsible for carrying out and completing the project successfully. (Cohesion Funds)

What must be stated at this point is that Objective 1 and Objective 2 Interventions, Structural Funds, and Cohesion Funds all have had a tremendous impact on the economic as well as regional development of Spain. When taken as separate segments, with 'Employment' as the first segment, there are several issues to be considered. One specific grant is that which is given for the purpose of providing information and training for workers' organizations. The activities of the European Trade Union Institute, also known, as the ETUI, the activities and actions of the European Trade Union College, and those of the European Center for Worker's Questions will be considered as being a part and parcel of the granting of the money to those who need it. The various types of actions and activities that would have to follow the acceptance of the grant would be that of organizing preparatory surveys and researches, preparation of material for the organization of seminars and meetings on the subject, setting up conferences, and setting up databases, and also networks. (Employment)

The main persons or organizations to avail the benefit of such employment grants would be the various European social partners' organizations and also other regional and local or national partners who represent the issues of workers. Another type of grant that would be awarded for the sake of the improvement of employment issues is the 'National awareness raising actions on social inclusion'. According to the terms and conditions to be fulfilled for the availability of this grant, the organization that prepares any proposals for taking specific actions towards increasing the awareness among the members of the European Union countries on issues of poverty and social exclusion, issues that must be discussed with appropriate plans for inculcating changes in them so that these adverse conditions can be improved, and more people are made aware of the phenomenon of extreme poverty and social exclusion that may or may not be a direct result of the poverty. (Employment)

In the area of Education, several grants are given to those organizations that would work towards improving education. The EC-U.S. Program for Cooperation in the field of higher education and vocational education is one such grant. The objective of this grant is to undertake cooperative efforts with the United States of America and with Canada in the fields of higher education and vocational training. Universities and various other centers of education would benefit from these grants, as would vocational training institutes. These centers of education would be able to utilize these grants to get involved in joint projects with other countries like the U.S.A. And Canada in order to improve their own methods of education and of vocational training.

Another such grant is the 'Enhancing EU related activities in Canadian universities', which aims at promoting the understanding of European integration and also of European Union relations with Canada at both regional and national levels. Several seminars and lectures and workshops and research projects would be carried out and implemented as a part of the provisions of the grant. The grant awarded to the cause of the European Union Institute in Japan provides for the aim at developing the university into a center of academic excellence, with a further aim of developing the base of the European Union in Japan so that research work and specialized studies and courses would be carried out. Towards this aim, regular meetings of the European Union members with the Japanese would be organized very often, as would conferences and seminars and workshops.. (EC-U.S. Program for Cooperation in the field of higher education and vocational education and training / EC-Canada Program for Cooperation in the field of higher education and training)

The 'Jean-Monnet Project European Integration in University Studies' is given to ease the subject of European studies into other universities of education by the means of start-up subsidies.The Pilot Cooperation project of higher education is also aimed towards setting up a framework for the probability of a two-way student exchange or mobility program. (EC-U.S. Program for Cooperation in the field of higher education and vocational education and training / EC-Canada Program for Cooperation in the field of higher education and training) Several grants are given in the field of transport too, for the improvement in the issues of road safety and transport safety. The European Commission grants these funds so that the general objectives of the transport policy as well as in the sector of the management of energy and transport issues are fulfilled. Studies and campaigns would be conducted not only in the European Union but also in the candidate countries and in the European Economic area so that road safety would be improved dramatically.

According to the principles under this grant, certain specific areas must be addressed. The first one would be that of 'user behavior'. According to the policies underlined in this section, there would be constant checks to enforce the various rules of the road, and penalties for disobedience would be severe. Both private as well as professional driving must undertake training according to the standard training methods prescribed, the physical and mental fitness of the driver would be checked constantly, stringent action would be taken to check whether the driver of the vehicle is under the influence of drugs or drinks or both, and the driver appropriately penalized, the rules of safety belts and child safety measures strictly implemented, and so on. The specialized vehicle technologies of impact resistance, of roadworthiness of a particular vehicle, and the tests that are used to examine it, and the issue of vehicle safety would all be under this section. (Transport)

In addition, road infrastructure that includes safety evaluations of roads and tunnels, etc., and the section of road technology that involves certain technical issues like transport of freight as well as passengers by road, and all the road safety measures that must be implemented to make it safe, and the section under which information and databases are gathered about road accidents, and analyses on these incidents, and all the previously gathered information on these issues are included in the road safety measures that must be implemented after availing the grant. Maritime accidents and the various safety measures that must be taken to improve maritime safety would be included in the list of issues of road and transport safety.

Among these, the issues of shipping accidents, especially for bulk carriers, and the analyses of the causes behind these accidents and the measures to be taken in order to improve the existing conditions will be a part of the provisions of the grant, and the funding will be also used for sustainable mobility policies especially for shipping and maritime activities. SURE is another grant that would be issued for the purpose of improving the safety of the transport of radioactive materials. The transport of radioactive materials is an area where dangers abound, and strict standards must be maintained so that safety standards can be tightened and improved, and the legislation that will arise in the case of an accident or nay other incident mutts be developed so that it may be useful in the present as well as in the future too. Information and literature will be provided to all the members of the European Union so that everyone is aware of the rules and regulations that are involved. (Transport)

All these grants and also others like grants for agriculture, culture, cross border cooperation, demography, energy, health, international cooperation, organized crime, rural developments, science and technology, and so on, have served to improve the conditions of the countries of the European union in economic and regional ways, and Spain has also benefited immensely form them. The impact of these loans or grants is long reaching and the credit goes to the European Union for having conceived of such grants and funds for those countries that need them the most, and would derive the maximum benefit out of them.

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