Despite being one of the richest regions in the world, the EU faces the growing problem of prolific inequalities in wealth and competitiveness within a diverse group of countries . This is reflected dramatically in the income differences between the richest and poorest regions of Europe: central London and Romania. Central London's per capita income is a staggering 290% of the EU average, while Romania has a per capita income of just 23% of the EU average. The European Union has recognized this problem and has taken action by implementing "cohesion" policies intended to encourage economic convergence, competitiveness and financial unity. To achieve these objectives, the EU has allocated a significant part of the taxes levied on member countries to the “Structural Funds”. These funds are made up of three financial instruments for a total amount of around €308 billion, or more than a third of the EU budget. The Structural Funds are designed to help regions in need, whose GDP is typically below 75% of the EU average. They are supposed to allocate money in a way that capitalizes on the comparative economic advantages of different EU regions through funding projects ranging from improving education to infrastructure investment to protection of the environment. Supporters of the funds define these projects as an “inherent part of the European idea and the European project” (Hubner) and cite regions that have shown strong growth, such as Ireland, as evidence of their success. But how true are these claims? Beyond the glorified and falsely correlated successes of the EU, a careful observer can see the flaws in this policy and would question to what extent these funds actually improve the state of the European economy. ....l Economy and politics. Oxford [England: Blackwell, 2000. 1-30. Print."Charlemagne: drowned in an ocean of structural funds? Some wonder if financial aid from the European Union intended for poor regions is still useful." The Economist March 27, 2003. Print.*“Relocation and European integration: are structural spending justified? by Karen Midelfart-Knarvik and Henry Overman, in Economic Policy, October 2002. Friedman, Milton. An economist's protest: chronicles on political economy. Glen Ridge] NJ: T. Horton, 1972. 6-7. Print.Hübner, Danuta. “EU Cohesion Policy 1988-2008 Investing in the future of Europe.” Info Région 26 (2008): 1-36. Print.O'Murchu, Cynthia and Peter Spiegel. “Europe’s grand vision is losing focus.” Financial Times [London] November 29, 2010. Print.Senior, Nello Susan. “Chapters: 4.15.” The European Union: economy, politics and history. London: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.