[FR] What are the prospects for structural funds and cohesion policy?
Seminar organised as part of the Franco-German meetings by the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik and Notre Europe, in Paris, on 31 January and 1 February 2002, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The French and Germans do not approach European Union structural policies in the same way. Hence the interest of this meeting to discuss nuances and differences. The timing seems particularly apt, given that the European Commission has just adopted an interim report on regional and cohesion policy and an initial discussion paper on the budgetary framework for the enlarged Union.
As Jacques Delors pointed out the day before (text attached), cohesion policy is not just about setting and distributing a budget between the regions of the member countries. For many Europeans, it is first and foremost a policy that nourishes their sense of belonging to the Union.
The debate will be divided into three parts:
- Review and lessons of cohesion policy on the eve of enlargement.
- Relations between cohesion policy and competition policy.
- How to improve the procedures and performance of the actors involved in the future.
Authors
Jean-Louis Arnaud
