In the e. U. Germanys role is. Germany gives a lot of money to the e. U. People always count on germany because were strong and they always ask for money of peoples lives we are paymasters everywhere these are somehow you cannot we finance a lot is it true sure we pay a lot for the e. U. But what actually happens to the money where do those billions end up and what does germany get out of it. The e. U. Promises equal Living Conditions in all Member States does that make sense is it even feasible. Good wages for work well done perspectives for a better future. How do people live in the e. U. Is europe really growing together. We travel across europe from bulgaria a poor member state through dependable old germany. To foo ming ireland. But we start in italy a country that conjures up beautiful images to cations. Excellent cuisine. Everywhere we go we see large signs saying built with e. U. Subsidies for decades money from brussels has gone into construction here nevertheless italy is in a state of crisis the south is still one of europes poorest regions. So where have all the billions gone. This man should know they are look at orlando has been mayor of palermo for almost 20 years hes something of a National Hero in italy. Thanks to him the mafia and palermo has little influence these days the crime rate is the lowest in italy. The locals like him. He shows us what hes achieved in palermo with European Union funding. Civil struggle to exert a peon subsidies we use for example to modernize all street like york he phoned it up raise money went into restoring Historic Buildings and promoting cultural institutions this hour will be the future story should buddy. Is one of europes leading up to houses following the paris in the vienna state whole problem but he will steal money enabled us to bring 1st class opera to the poor quarters of palermo through to the levy because 33 year. Old this was subsidized with european funds which are designated to raising Living Conditions in the Member States. You know that one 3rd of all you money is used to help achieve equal Living Standards everywhere in the e. U. To help build a brand new tram network in palermo with 2 lines already in operation for example. Happen dozen more lines are under construction. We asked the mayor of palermo why should german taxpayers finance it. There should be a good look at the one 3rd of the money comes from the italian government. One 3rd comes from the city of palermo and one 3rd from europe. The money makes palermo a better place to live in but it also benefits European Industries the trams were built by boeing by ga with many parts made among men germany im sort of this week on monday i enjoyed a bad year so the german taxpayer did partly finance the project but since some parts were built in germany it also benefits the german state gets tax revenue and german workers have jobs. Is this an argument that also convinces economists. Who can compete in the sky im a little skeptical about the argument that delivering goods that we pay for as part of the Cohesion Policy Program is profitable for germany its the same logic as paying for my exports myself and giving the goods away so to speak welsh washington. But does is still price food and so this is the price we pay to keep the e. U. Together. If we didnt pay the e. U. Would fall apart also no fun oh wont view how many times we have an interest in e. U. Backing when we want to support german interests in both on the well. And in the global system of rule in various sustain our shaft course thats. So germany hands over money to other Member States in exchange for political support. Gifts that also benefit the German Economy. One e. U. Finance expert sees it differently. For every 100. 00 euros a german earns almost 50 are deducted and welfare contributions taxes and so on he called just one euro out of those 50 goes to europe even no 49 year olds remain in germany including the money to pay for Health Insurance in this respect europe is. Very thrifty only 150th of public spending goes to e. U. Financing. In terms of contributions to the e. U. Per capita germany is far from the top. But if we take into account how much money the countries receive from the e. U. In socalled net payments germany is in 2nd place. We travel on to Sofia Bulgaria and capital another recipient of german taxpayers money via e. U. Subsidies. Garia has the weakest economy in the u. But you wouldnt guess that after Walking Around sofia. Thanks to e. U. Funding the city has good roads and a modern metro system. Sophia is booming population is growing is this proof that european funding policies work. This policy works particularly well in the new Member States of the conditions there are improving so that the people remain where they are born with good opportunities are created for employment starting a family and enjoying a good standard of living throughout the e. U. In rural northwest bulgaria things look very different there is still widespread poverty here. One some 3000 people lived in little brooch today there are just 250. People did not stay moved to sophia or even germany. Has founded an association to help those who stay. In this building is a former kindergarten that closed over 5 years ago because there are hardly any children left in the village. Absolutely that really is the case every day it is a funeral and nobody cares thats the reality. This former kindergarten is to be turned into a soup kitchen for the elderly the association has applied for subsidies but to no avail. Kensho complains that only Big Companies get their hands on the money by paying agencies that are specialized in getting e. U. Subsidies equal measures moves any other companies that charge 20 percent of the subsidy money to write yeah occasions for with the project think low in terms of we didnt commission such a company 20 percent will be our salaries for 6 months and now were in 3rd place on some waiting list. No 33rd place so we have to review each case individually but the decision as to where infrastructure will be built in bulgaria is 1st and foremost a matter for the Bulgarian Government and parliament when you were elected by the bulgarian people. A person in a rural area can make suggestions the mayor then does that. And then its decided by parliament in which applications for funding are passed on to the e. U. And minute. The new funding especially the money that goes to 4. 00 regions is an essential part of European Solidarity some of the money also benefits germany. But making sure the money reaches those who really need it is left to the individual states. There is however an e. U. Institution responsible for the common currency the e. C. B. The euro had only been in existence for 7 years when crisis struck despite years of bailouts and 0 percent Interest Rates this crisis has not yet been overcome. Is the euro really to blame. The euro was introduced nearly 20 years ago but there are german shoppers who still calculate prices and deutsche marks. 1000. 00 german citizens were asked what they thought of the common currency. 78 percent said that they were satisfied with the euro only 21 percent were dissatisfied with the common currency. The mood in italy is quite different a country isnt. Crisis the economy is in decline. More and more talons are feeling the pinch like. He works as a shoeshine or in palermo. His customers are lawyers businessmen people who can afford to pay 10. 00 euros for a shoeshine and enjoy a chat at the same time. Sometimes about europe. What do you think about the european elections. That brussels finally understands that europe should be a europe for the people. Also for the people. They live the sort of people that are. 7 years ago sebastiano worked for the local Lawyers Association during the euro crisis the lawyers also ran short of money. Lost his job and couldnt find a new one he came up with the idea of reviving the shoeshine trade founded. Is now its chairman and not a fan of the euro. The euro didnt do me any good on the contrary the euro harmed me. Prices have doubled but wages havent. And when they say that we are now over the crisis they are just fooling people. We should not just look out for the multinationals but the small craft not the small companies. The man on the street is still experiencing a crisis. Because. That was not always the case. If you compare the average economic strength of all euro countries with italy it becomes clear before the introduction of the euro italy was fairing better than the e. U. Average but when the euro was introduced things went down. Hill since the beginning of the financial crisis Italian Economy has been in a much worse state and it still hasnt recovered. What is wrong in italy and what do the italians think about the euro and the e. U. Budget amendment you do in the me i would say that germany is the lion. And italy they deserve. And so to speak so well but i guess we were better off with the. Influx you and today with the euro we have low wages high prices. And we see we really are doing well. And has been waiting in vain for customers for 2 hours. Before shining shoes she worked in a shoe factory shes a typical victim of the problems italys industry is facing i mean. I wonder if i could see the crisis coming when i was working in the factory. But we made 150. 00 pairs of shoes per week but about 750. 00 per month but it slowly dropped to 50 pairs per week so on nobody to shine much on i knew that i could soon be out of a job that i set up will soon be thought yes certainly shouldnt. Now she works on the street. But she still keeps in touch with her old factory colleagues. The company has existed for over 50 years and is now run by the son of the founder. Used to employ more than 50 people. Now just a dozen or left hand crafted shoes from italy were in high demand for decades but manual labor has become expensive in italy. Quite high. Taxes. But if it so Many Companies prefer to produce abroad. If you bring the finished product its only just. Here or there you can say its made in italy. Even though its not ready made in italy. In the premier of the Exchange Rate could help in such a situation. The products became too expensive abroad the lira could be devalued. That is no longer the case. That if countries are very very different if they are very asymmetrical then they need the Exchange Rate as a kind of safety valve. That helps to make an adjustment if developments are to unequal but that is no longer possible because there is no Exchange Rate that can compensate as we have experienced some countries have not learned to cope with this over the last 10 years since the crisis began. What does the e. C. B. Former chief economist say about this. Dont blame the euro for your own weaknesses i think the number of weaknesses and a tendency to blame the euro as a way as a scapegoat you know to say that to hide a little bit your own problems and there was a tendency in some countries to depreciate the currency when the had 3 fundamental problems of competition but that was always always that was always temporary gains that it could have in competition the real problems were never solved actually one if you leave before us to reach it why isnt it indicated sufficiently why dont you have the fusion of technology theres nothing to do with europe. Italy would have to modernize its economic policies. Factory would have to invest in new machinery and more effective production methods. But that would create new problems for guy autonomy lombardo. But you dont think that a bank of course the banks dont grant loans its just that they were enjoying a crisis they fear that the company will be unable to repay the loan in 102 years time either way but on. No loans no mortgages no securities nothing. Italian banks are considered particularly crisis prone this could be one reason why its hard to get a loan in italy despite the fact that the e. C. B. Has been keeping Interest Rates at record lows for years. The low Interest Rates are designed to simplify lending processes and boost the economy. But Smaller Companies that need to invest are often refused loans. Why is that. Very carefully credits because. In the past but Credit Conditions today thanks to the c b. That doesnt mean that business gets credit the bank no. Responsibility. This factory owner does not have such problems his Company Growth is excelling. Were in poland and e. U. Country with a booming economy but it still has its own currency the swati. Florek greets a delegation of buyers from around europe he founded his company shortly after the iron curtain was raised it makes windows mainly skylights. Today he has more than 4000. 00 employees and a 15 percent world market share the company is doing well just like the polish economy. Why is that we ask. When you voted and just come through the crisis well because the swat team has dropped in value. Competitive on the world market. Things are worse in greece where the currency could not be devalued if. This is completely understandable from an economic point of view. As you can see has done. Well without the euro in recent years they know that if they introduced the euro they risk perhaps one day having to pay for the mistakes of other countries. And the polls say they do not want that. And i can understand the strategy that theyre pursuing. The poles have learned from the experiences of the euro crisis and other countries. But does that really mean that the euro is not a long term prospect for poland. I think that we want the euro opponent is still not ready for it. I think the economic standards the standard of living in poland must increase 1st and then we can profit from joining the euro zone. The euro does not guarantee economic success everywhere in europe in Southern Europe we can see the kinds of problems the euro brings if companies are not competitive. The mountains of debt are growing and with them the risk of new crises. In comparison the German Economy is booming with the euro many think thanks to the euro. Europe is an important market for this company. Tex makes special industrial vehicles called side loaders 400 people work in this factory in eastern hassen. The region enjoys full employment and skilled workers are urgently needed do they owe their standard of living to the e. U. What do germans think does the e. U. Bring them advantages individually. In a representative survey 67 percent said that the e. U. Membership brought them advantages. 10 percent thought the advantages and disadvantages balanced out. 19 percent of those surveyed took a more negative view. The main advantages for employees would be secure jobs and good wages but how did germans rate their wage levels where do they think people are in the most in europe. I would say. And really. Dr anderson because i think i would put germany in 2nd place then france spain and italy. And where do you think people are in the least. Its a totally. I think the irish are ahead of germany on average. Over the us to which i think germany is further ahead. I think spain and italy are further behind. Nobody knew that when it comes to these 5 countries germany is only in the middle people in france and ireland have higher average incomes than in germany. When i was here joe has a doing fine theyre not doing fine having a bed a roof over my head something to drink and something to eat thats not doing well thats simply the basic need of every human being. So how well is a german skilled worker doing christiane angle is 40 married and has 3 children. After training as an Agricultural Machinery mechanic he changed to his current job. Hes been welding heavy steel parts as a precision worker for hope tex for almost half his life. Been with hooked tech since january 1st 2001 next year it will be 20 years the working environment is very good i take home 2 and a half 1000 euros a month. That makes him a typical german skilled worker pretty much an average german income he lives on the outskirts of pulled up in his parents old farm together with his wife carina and their 3 children. You know has a Part Time Job with a low income. Together they have around 3000. 00 euros net income for a month. They only have to pay the utilities for the apartment in their parents house that means they can afford an annual skiing holiday in the alps and various other things but do they think they earn enough money to lead a good life as a family with children or are things becoming increasingly tight distinction and thats really what i think its become more difficult wages are certainly not rising as fast as the costs. I dont know when that started are when things changed a lot but wages certainly dont go up as much as prices due to be deployed as. Many people in germany think they have less purchasing power than in the past. But is it true. What do the experts think. We have a tendency to forget what things were really like in the past we have magic in them better than they were people might say everything gets worse and worse but in many ways that just isnt the case. For you know. In the past you couldnt go abroad on holiday for you. Know people started to go to italy once a year. Now people take 2 vacations. Pretty ordinary but when you think back and really think seriously about what a phone call costs for example. A vehicle today have much more purchasing power to feed off in fact the cost of living in rural areas such as here on the outskirts of is lower than in some german cities or other european regions so how satisfied is the angle family with their income and standard of living. Here in full though we still live very well and prices are still ok. I think that germany in comparison to other e. U. Countries is somewhere in the middle there are other e. U. Countries with lower incomes but also countries with higher ones. When we compare average incomes i