The European Union needs a strong, flexible and reformed Cohesion Policy available to all territories, with regions and cities at its heart, to boost the EU’s competitiveness while reducing regional inequalities. This is the strong call of regional and local leaders who, during a European Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary on 20-21 November, adopted a package of opinions defining the building blocks of Cohesion Policy after 2027.
Territorial inequalities are increasing across Europe, while regions are facing new challenges linked to the climate crisis, energy dependency, demographic change and geopolitical tensions. Cohesion Policy – which currently represents around one third of the long-term EU budget – has a crucial role to play in delivering on these emerging priorities, as they often require a place-sensitive approach and touch upon regions’ and cities’ competences.
A key framework opinion by the co-rapporteurs Vasco Alves CORDEIRO (PT/PES), President of the CoR, and Emil BOC (RO/EPP), President of the CoR commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget, unanimously adopted by the CoR plenary, underlined that the impact of Cohesion Policy depends on the knowledge and involvement of local and regional authorities for ensuring that projects are relevant, effective and sustainable. Therefore, the CoR opposed any future measure of centralisation within Cohesion Policy that would concentrate more power in the hands of EU and national authorities.
Emil BOC (RO/EPP), Mayor of Cluj-Napoca and President of the CoR commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget said: "A reinforced Cohesion Policy with strong local and regional involvement is not only a more democratic policy, it is a more effective policy. The future of the Cohesion Policy must prioritize partnership over centralization, subsidiarity over uniformity, and local action over distant mandates. My dream is of a Europe that thrives because it is cohesive; a Europe where every citizen has the freedom to move but also the freedom to stay and prosper in their home region; a Europe that is strong because it values every voice, every region, and every community."
Key priorities for the future Cohesion Policy
Representatives of cities and regions highlighted that Cohesion Policy has come under pressure to address many priorities, while its primary goal should be redressing geographical disparities. However, cohesion in Europe cannot be promoted by Cohesion Policy alone. All EU and national policies should pursue the same objective in a coordinated manner. CoR consequently called for the creation of an EU monitoring framework to assess the implementation of policies vis à vis the promotion of cohesion.
In order to simplify Cohesion Policy rules after 2027, regions and cities called for the establishment of a single strategic framework for EU funds, reducing the number of funding instruments, and they opposed the creation of new EU sectoral funds with no clear added value to existing ones, such as the announced Competitiveness fund.
The involvement of regional and local authorities through the shared-management model, the multi-level governance and the partnership principle must remain the guiding principles of a reformed Cohesion Policy post-2027. Local and regional leaders are also open to explore new ways to improve the delivery of Cohesion Policy funds, including following aspects of the performance-based model in some specific cases.
Background
- In November 2023, the CoR adopted a first opinion on the future of Cohesion Policy after 2027. Drafted by the co-rapporteurs Vasco Alves CORDEIRO and Emil BOC.
- Rewatch the plenary debate on a renewed Cohesion Policy that leaves no one behind.
