European “equalization” rules and the de facto differentiation in member states’ revenues as a barrier to EU citizens’ freedoms

The chapter analyses the link between factual equalities of people and equalization of financial resources of the different territories and levels of government. The impact of European Union (EU) citizenship is tested in the field of an improved European Union Cohesion Policy, comparing the EU attitude towards territorial redistribution of resources with other federal and regional experiences (in particular the case of Italian fiscal federalism). The Cohesion Policy and the factual differences are contextualized in a non-federal European Union, underlining how solidarity is a necessary idea in the perspective of a more complete concept of EU citizenship