AUTHORS: James Medhurst-Patrick ten Brink-Samuela Bassi-Jason Anderson-Andrew Farmer

The study, commissioned by DG Regio, provided a strategic evaluation of the needs and priorities for environmental investment under the Structural and Cohesion Funds for the period 2007- 2013 in 15 Member States – namely the new Member States and three former cohesion countries (Spain, Portugal and Greece). The major outcome of the study has been the preparation of national evaluation reports for each Member States, providing a strategic analysis of five main fields: water supply, waste water treatment, municipal solid waste, renewable energy sources and natural risk management (fire, flood, drought). Among the key policy issues, the evaluations took into account climate change, the level of acquis implementation, economic aspects such as potential flanking measures, and the range and scale of natural risk. IEEP conducted in particular the studies related to Malta and Cyprus, and collaborated to the overall synthesis report.