What is the cohesion policy?
Before I write about the EU’s cohesion policy within the period 2014-2020, I would like to
summarize, what is that cohesion policy.
The economic and social situation is very different in the European Union’s 271 regions.
The cohesion policy is a frame, which serves the integration, economic and political
solidarity, ensures the harmonized development of the Community and aimed to reduce the
regional and social disparities in the European Union. The main tools for reduce these gaps
are promoting economic growth, job creation, and improve competitiveness. This
programme is realized through hundreds of thousands projects. These projects are
supported inter alia by the Structural Fund, Cohesion Fund and the Social Fund.1,2
The cohesion policy between 2007 and 2013
The original objective, to strengthen the economic and social cohesion of the member
states needed to reinforce after the integration 12 new countries between 2004 and 2007.
Countries with the biggest portions from the Cohesion Fund have been asked to contribute
to make the integration process quicker and more progressive.
Additionally, there were many challenges the EC had to face. Without being exhaustive,
the acceleration of economic restructuring following globalisation, the e ects of the ff
technological revolution, of an ageing population and the growth of immigration were the
problems the EU had to cope with. The result was a new legislative provision with the
following parts:
•new regulation which creates a cross-border authority
•a regulation for each of the sources of fi nuancing
•a general regulation which defines common rules, applicable to the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF) and the
Cohesion Fund.3
The financial resources were quiet abundant, the total amount which were distributed
between member states was 308 billion euros. This was the amount available for different
aid programmes in in national and regional levels as well. The nations planned their so
called National Strategic Reference Frameworks (NSRFs) which contains their priorities
and planning for the upcoming period. The main priorities of the cohesion policy were the
followings:
•improve appeal of the country by infrastructural developments, ensure better
quality and level of product and services
•encouraging setting up new enterprises which can contribute the success of the
whole EU
•create new and improve the level of existing workplaces by investment into human
capital 3,4
Results of the European Cohesion Policy until 2013
Over the past 10 years the EU’s Cohesion Policy contributed to the creation of 1 million
