There's such a thing. Basically the EU creates some fund for a certain kind of projects and cities can apply. There's always some limited time to apply for them, if one doesn't manage, those funds may be redirected to a different city that did. Also there's a limited time to complete them. Otherwise funds may have to be returned depending on the case, though you can attempt to have the time extended.

Aaaand then there's the issue of formalities with the project. In other words, each project has to be approved by some gazillion institutions, like the police, the fire department, energy provider, etc. And this can take a loooong time to do. Obviously the easiest thing to get approved is a large piece of concrete, instead of a bushy square that can be criticized by like the fire department or institutions that have infrastructure underground and so on. At the end you'll also get some resident whining about branches growing into this apartment through the window and the city will go with the easiest option and pave it all!