Influence of European Structural Funds on Social and Economic Performance in Spanish and Portuguese Regions

Spanish and Portuguese regions make up a distinct area in the European Community. Majority of them can be described as less developed economies with strong dependence on agricultural production. The position of those regions is somehow underprivileged due to their peripherality as well as topographic restrictions, which cause integration problems with the common market. In many of these areas of the Iberian Peninsula, small- scale and low tech agriculture still dominates. In most cases these regions are considered to be the areas, in which traditional economy is not adapted to market conditions. Also infrastructure provision in these areas is less developed and of poorer quality than in other parts of Europe. More advantageous situation can be observed in North - East Spanish regions, which have completed the bulk of their structural adjustments and are perceived as success areas. Nevertheless European cohesion policy still has an important role to play in dynamizing economic growth and in sustaining welfare of the habitants in the Iberian Peninsula.