This master’s thesis deals with project management from the perspective of financing from EU funds. In the first part there is described the theoretical background of project management and its specifics for projects financed from EU funds. In the second part there is elaborated a proposal of the project in a way that is in compliance with requirements for grant application from the EU fund.

1 Abstract The diploma thesis "Public Accountability: A Case Study of Operational Programme Employment" sees accountability as social relationship between two actors, in which one is obliged to explain his conduct to the other. The thesis examines accountability regime and relations in Czech public administration on example of the setting and implementation of Operational Programme Employment. The main objective of the thesis is to describe accountability regime in Operational Programme Employment, the existing accountability relations and their characteristics. The perspective of Managing Authority of OP Employment is the starting point for the analysis. 8 relations are presented based on quantitative content analysis of documents, which set up rules of implementation for the OP. More relations are added based on expert interviews. The thesis then concludes that there are differences between content and functions of accountability relations. At the EU level there is an emphasis on outputs and accountability is used mainly for fulfilling goals and targets. At the Czech Republic level the stress is on processes and compliance with rules. The thesis comes to conclusion that Managing Authority must be accountable to many forums, which have different demands and stress diverse contents and functions. Moreover,...

This dissertation is a case study of Albania regarding the influence institutions have over the utilization of the EU financial aid, more specifically, the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance II (IPA II) for the period of 2014-2020. Albania has been struggling with EU accession despite the allocation of numerous funds in the form of development programs for several years. The study attempts to identify the endogenous obstacles to development and the utilization of funds due to both formal and informal institutions. The reviewed literature shows a clear correlation between economic growth and good quality institutions. Besides, it indicates that informal institutions play a major role in the development process. Therefore the role of the Kanun in Albania is examined. As defined by mainly Douglas North, the New Institutional Economics theory is used to dive into Albania’s formal and informal institutions and discover how those determine the politico-economic and social structures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine key participants who work in IPA II projects at the local level across the country. The country was divided into three regions in order to identify variations in the role of IPA II funds, institutions, and degree of development. Before the analysis is done and the results are presented, the historical background of the three key historical periods of the country, Ottoman, Communist and Democracy, is provided to set the base of the origin of present institutions. The results from the interviews and the macro-economic indicators of the three regions show a correlation between good defined formal institutions and economic growth and strong informal institutions and stagnation, as the theory suggested.

Lietuvai tapus ES nare didelis dėmesys bei lėšos nuolatos yra skiriamos aplinkosaugai. Susidarančių problemų analizė skirstant lėšas projektams, jų statybai ir eksplotacijai, turi padėti išvengti jų ateityje. Jau prieš įstojant 2004 m. Lietuvai į Europos Sąjungą, buvo galimybė naudotis jos finasine parama, kuria Lietuva ir naudojosi. ES fondų lėšų administravimui bei veiksmingam šiomis lėšomis finansuojamų projektų įgyvendinimui užtikrinti Lietuvoje 2002 metais buvo įsteigta ISPA programos įgyvendinimo agentūra prie Aplinkos ministerijos. Šiuo metu ES lėšų iš ISPA/Sanglaudos fondų panaudojimą, projektų rengimus, pirkimus, administruoja Aplikos projektų valdymo agentūra (APVA). Vandentvarkos projektus per „kaimo infrastruktūros tobulinimo“ kryptį prižiūri Nacionalinė mokėjimo agentūra (NMA). Darbo tikslas- apžvelgti ES fondų lėšų panaudojimą nuotekų valyklų projektams ir jų įgyvendinimui, išanalizuoti nuotekų valyklose taikomas technologijas ir iškylančias statybos ir eksplotacijos problemas. Uždaviniai: Išanalizuoti senųjų nuotekų valyklų pritaikymą šiuolaikinėms technologijoms, išnagrinėti ES fondų lėšų panaudojimą nuotekų valyklų statyboms, atlikti naujose projektuose taikomų technologijų analizę. / In May 2004 Lithuania became the member of the European Union; therefore now it has more opportunities for using the financial assistance provided by the European Union. New members are concerned with the utilisation of support funds of the European Union. The Ministry of Environment in 2002 established ISPA Implementing Agency that controls utilisation of EU assets from ISPA/Cohesion funds, organizes project preparation, procurements, consultations etc. In 2004 the Agency was renamed to Environmental Projects Management Agency. The National Paying Agency was established for administration of SAPARD support. Main investment targets in the field of water resource protection are: improvement of fresh water quality, reduction of surface water contamination with domestic waste, reduction of underground water pollution. Goal of work is to review the usage of EU funds for wastewater treatment projects and their implementation. This work describes the technological and regulatory changes that have occurred over the last ten years in this discipline, including: improved techniques for the characterization of wastewaters, fundamental understanding of many of the existing unit operations and processes used for wastewater treatment, especially those processes used for the biological removal of nutrients, greater implementation of several newer treatment technologies.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to evaluate the use of funds from EU funds and public budgets drawn on the construction and reconstruction of playgrounds in the South Bohemian Region in the period 2007-2013. Evaluate how effectively EU funds were used and what impact they had on the development of municipalities in the South Bohemian region. The project describes the realized projects aimed at the construction and reconstruction of playgrounds in the South Bohemian Region. A secondary analysis of the data of realized projects and a comparative analysis of the use of funds from EU funds and public budgets are carried out. The drawing of funds for the construction and reconstruction of children's playgrounds in the South Bohemian Region in 2007-13 with the strategic goals of the South Bohemian Region for 2007-2013 is evaluated. At the end of the thesis there are mentioned recommendations for more efficient use of funds for the construction and reconstruction of playgrounds in the South Bohemian Region in 2014-2020.

Thesis focuses on analysis of the possibility of drawing financial resources from EU funds for the railway infrastructure in the Czech Republic. The aim of the work is the analysis of the whole project cycle, and also the utilization of financial resources of EU funds for railway infrastructure in other countries of the European Union.

This thesis is focused on employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Displays their currently employment opportunities and apply on the Czech labor market. In the context of international comparision, these options are compared also with the support in Austria. Specific case of this thesis is project STUDEO. Programs designed to promote employment of disabled people are often lergely co-financed by EU funds. Distribution of these funds is also part of the work. Finally work show that these small and transparent projects are effective instrument for promoting employment of disabled people.

The aim of this work was to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues of economic development of Spain and its operation within the EC / EU.In the first chapter is mentioned basic information on the country. These data are important for understanding the circumstances that led to the integration of Spain into European structures. Then second chapter describes the negotiation process and the economic and political effects of enlargement of the EC.The third chapter contains information about the economic development of Spain before and after joining the EC. It also addresses the problem of unemployment, immigration and economic consequences of the current economic crisis.The last chapter is devoted to the role of Spain and its position on the most important issues of the integration process.

Tourism has been in previous programming periods, one of the investment priorities in a support from EU funds. For the next programming period 2014-2020 this support has undergone numerous changes. Therefore, it begs a question to look back at a period of more than 10 years since the Czech Republic joined the EU. The EU financial support can be analyzed from different angles. The aim of this thesis is to compare the existing options of using financial support from EU funds for tourism in the Czech Republic. The thesis is divided into four chapters, where three are theoretical and one is practical. In the practical part, a study of the feasibility for a specific project in the current programming period 2014-2020 demonstrates possibilities for using financial support in agrotourism. In the current period agrotourism is almost the only fully supported area from EU funds. The project is developed according to the application rules for a submission of a grant application in the programming period 2014-2020.

Both the European Union and the Czech Republic support small and medium enterprises as an important leverage point for increasing competitiveness, employment and added value through European funds and programs. Thus, the thesis analyzes key changes between OP PI from the 2007-2013 financial framework with its successor OP PIK and the implications for small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic. Besides that is the main goal of this thesis to understand the underlying motivation of SMEs when applying for a financial aid from European funds. The research identifies key changes, such as changes in the priority axes, increase in budget, and decrease in maximum public support or single methodical environment. Based on the literature research, case studies with successful applicants for European grants and subsidies and interviews with consultants and governmental experts, the thesis defines key challenges and issues for SMEs when applying for financial support such as excessive bureaucracy, user experience with a new monitoring system, ever changing requirements for applications or governmental preferences on price the over the quality standards when assessing an application. The thesis recommends following key factors - thorough business plan, detail-oriented preparations for applications and dedicated project management - mentioned by the analyzed companies to successfully receive a subsidy from the European funds.