From 2007–13, € billion was allocated in the EU budget to structural and investment funds. And let me add that Slovenia was a net recipient of those funds, with annual investment financing amounting to, on average, onefifth of what the Slovenian government spent on public investment. No one would claim this system of rules, safeguards and redistribution has been perfect.
We know that some feel it improves their lives too little, and others that it intrudes into their lives too much. But what we have built in Europe is a model for sustainable openness – one that can reap its gains while mitigating its unwanted effects.