Forging a sustainable future together: cohesion Policy at its defining moment

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: This policy debate outlines a renewed vision for the EU’s Cohesion Policy amid the growing political uncertainty threatening its very viability. Drawing on the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy’s findings, it advocates for a more dynamic, systemic approach emphasising institutional capacity, territorial sensitivity, global links, and performance-based delivery. These are areas where past reforms have underdelivered. It warns against marginalising cohesion in favour of top-down, centralised strategies, arguing it is more than a funding tool. Cohesion Policy is the EU’s most democratic mechanism, fostering trust, participation and unity. Revitalising it is essential for competitiveness, resilience and the very future of Europe.

Keywords: EU Cohesion Policy; regional development; policy reform; EU enlargement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 O18 R11 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-geo
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Published in Regional Studies, 2, October, 2025, 59(1). ISSN: 0034-3404

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Working Paper: Forging a sustainable future together. Cohesion Policy at its defining moment (2025)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:129229

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