Cohesion in the European Union

Abstract

Leonardi R. (2006) Cohesion in the European Union, Regional Studies 40, 155–166. After 16 years of implementation of the European Union's (EU) Cohesion policy, it is appropriate to review its initial rationale and subsequent impact on socio-economic conditions in the EU. In 1989, few expected significant results from the policy. During the last decade and a half, not only have the peripheral and less-developed regions and countries not fallen behind the developed countries of the core, but also they have grown at faster rates than the core areas. The policy has helped to reduce the socio-economic disparities between core and peripheral areas. For the less-developed countries that have recently (or are expected to join in the near future), the real attraction for entering the EU is not limited to full access to the Single Market, but it is also tied to the goal of participating in the Cohesion policy as a means of spurring a sustainable pattern of economic growth in the medium- to long-term.

Cohesion policy  Rationale  Regional convergence  European Union enlargement

Leonardi R. (2006) Cohesion in the European Union, Regional Studies 40, 155–166. After 16 years of implementation of the European Union's (EU) Cohesion policy, it is appropriate to review its initial rationale and subsequent impact on socio-economic conditions in the EU. In 1989, few expected significant results from the policy. During the last decade and a half, not only have the peripheral and less-developed regions and countries not fallen behind the developed countries of the core, but also they have grown at faster rates than the core areas. The policy has helped to reduce the socio-economic disparities between core and peripheral areas. For the less-developed countries that have recently (or are expected to join in the near future), the real attraction for entering the EU is not limited to full access to the Single Market, but it is also tied to the goal of participating in the Cohesion policy as a means of spurring a sustainable pattern of economic growth in the medium- to long-term.

Politique de cohésion  Logique  Convergence régionale  Elargissement de l'UE

Leonardi R. (2006) Cohesion in the European Union, Regional Studies 40, 155–166. After 16 years of implementation of the European Union's (EU) Cohesion policy, it is appropriate to review its initial rationale and subsequent impact on socio-economic conditions in the EU. In 1989, few expected significant results from the policy. During the last decade and a half, not only have the peripheral and less-developed regions and countries not fallen behind the developed countries of the core, but also they have grown at faster rates than the core areas. The policy has helped to reduce the socio-economic disparities between core and peripheral areas. For the less-developed countries that have recently (or are expected to join in the near future), the real attraction for entering the EU is not limited to full access to the Single Market, but it is also tied to the goal of participating in the Cohesion policy as a means of spurring a sustainable pattern of economic growth in the medium- to long-term.

Kohäsionspolitik  Gründprinzip  regionale Konvergenz  EU-Erweiterung

Leonardi R. (2006) Cohesion in the European Union, Regional Studies 40, 155–166. After 16 years of implementation of the European Union's (EU) Cohesion policy, it is appropriate to review its initial rationale and subsequent impact on socio-economic conditions in the EU. In 1989, few expected significant results from the policy. During the last decade and a half, not only have the peripheral and less-developed regions and countries not fallen behind the developed countries of the core, but also they have grown at faster rates than the core areas. The policy has helped to reduce the socio-economic disparities between core and peripheral areas. For the less-developed countries that have recently (or are expected to join in the near future), the real attraction for entering the EU is not limited to full access to the Single Market, but it is also tied to the goal of participating in the Cohesion policy as a means of spurring a sustainable pattern of economic growth in the medium- to long-term.

Política de cohesión  Motivos  Convergencia regional  Ampliación de la UE

Notes

1. Romano Prodi, speech entitled ‘Building our Future Together’ (speech 04/67).

2. Romano Prodi, speech to the Committee of Regions entitled ‘A New Cohesion Policy for Europe's Regions’, given at the Conference on ‘Cohesion and Constitution: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Regions’, Brussels, Belgium, 8 July 2003 (speech 03/351).

3. The addition of Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1996 did not significantly shift the level of the EU average in the transition for an EU of 12 to 15 Member States.

4. The need to distinguish Objective 1 from non-Objective 1 programmes in measuring the impact of Cohesion policy on the regions is not always understood (Midelfart-Knarvik and Overman, 2002).