Using Structural and Cohesion Funds to co-finance transport infrastructures in seaports: an effective investment? : Special Report No 4, 2012

The European Court of Auditors assessed the objectives and outputs of 27 randomly selected transport infrastructure projects in seaports which were co-financed between 2000 and 2006 through the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. The Court found that only 11 out of the 27 projects were effective in supporting transport policy objectives. In addition, some constructions had not been completed, some were not in use and others will need considerable further investment before they can be put into effective use. The Court's report puts forward various reasons to explain these findings and makes recommendations to address the shortcomings noted so as to improve future EU-spending in seaports.