EU financial support I should also mention that the various financial support mechanisms of the European Union - the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Funds - have been of assistance in adapting to the new economic structures and in financing infrastructural development.
These supports have averaged around 2¼% of GDP since 1989, and have been in relative decline during the past six to seven years of strong economic growth. Indeed, it has been argued that the impact of the structural fund process on the administrative and political system has been at least as important as the investment itself.