Adaptation of Cohesion policy to the enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Göthenburg objectives
On February 2, Notre Europe presented its study written in request of the Committee of Regional Development to the European Parliament.
The accession of ten new Member States, soon to be joined by two others, and the further enlargements still to come mean that cohesion policy is faced with a fourfold challenge; growing social and regional disparities, the emergence of new territorial inequalities, the continuing problem of social exclusion and the public’s lack of involvement in the European project.
The contribution made by cohesion policy to the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives is already a substantial one. Although the regions must be encouraged to participate more in efforts to increase competitiveness, and although there needs to be a greater consistency of measures at European, national and regional levels, the priorities of cohesion policy ought not to be identified entirely with those of Lisbon, and use of the open method of coordination should be avoided.
Constraints on public funds are often put forward as a justification for cuts to the cohesion budget. Although such constraints mean that greater efforts must be undertaken to achieve efficiency and results, their significance should not be underestimated, as they are often conceal attempts at renationalisation which are mainly motivated by self-interest. New avenues of funding, in particular loans and increased involvement of the private sector, must be explored in order to respond positively to such problems.
Cohesion policy offers a broad array of instruments and a method which is widely acknowledged as useful by the least advanced regions. In other areas, the complexity of the procedures, in relation to the sums of money available, is often a root cause of inefficiency. However, cohesion policy has the enormous advantage of being visible and tangible to Europeans, and its added value cannot therefore be calculated merely in terms of percentage points of GDP. The provisions introduced in 2000 are far from satisfactory, with the exception of the strengthening of links between the ESF and the European Strategy for Employment, and of the widening of the partnership in programmes.
