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Cohesion Policy in the EU

According to the Lisbon Treaty, the EU shall strive to further economic and social cohesion among the Member States. The cohesion policy is the tool to realise this objective and aims to improve the situation in the least developed areas in Europe.

Photo: European Union, 2011

During the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, there is one dossier on the area of structural funds and cohesion which will dominate the work of the Council. Below you can read more about this issue and the EU's policy in this area.

Revision of the EU’s Cohesion Policy

In October 2011, the Commission published six proposals for regulations governing the future Cohesion Policy:

  • a general framework regulation
  • separate regulations on the European Regional Development Fund
  • the European Social Fund
  • the Cohesion Fund
  • Territorial Co-operation
  • European Grouping for Territorial Co-operation

The proposals aim to create a common framework for Cohesion Policy and the European Rural Development Fund and the European Fisheries Fund, which are part of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy, respectively. The proposed regulations aim at improving the effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy through adjusted management structures and greater performance orientation.

It will be a large and important task during the Danish EU Presidency to achieve progress in the negotiations on these regulations.

Spending of the cohesion funds
In the EU’s multiannual financial framework for 2007-2013, a total of EUR 347.4 billion has been allocated for the cohesion policy. This equals 35.6 per cent of the total EU budget for this period, making cohesion policy the second largest budget item in the current budget period.

The cohesion funding is spent according to three priorities:

  1. The Convergence Objective facilitates the development in the least affluent Member States and regions. Regions with a GDP per capita of less than 75 per cent of the EU average and Member States with a GNI per capita of less than 90 per cent of the EU average are entitled to support within this objective. 81.5 per cent of the available resources are allocated to this objective.
  2. The Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective supports the regions not covered by the Convergence Objective. 16 per cent of the available resources are allocated to this objective.
  3. The European Territorial Co-operation Objective furthers cross-border, transnational, and inter-regional cooperation. All EU regions can receive allocations under this objective, but special priority is given to regions at international borders and sea borders. 2.5 per cent of the available resources are allocated to this objective.

The three cohesion and structural funds
The European cohesion policy is funded through the Cohesion Fund and the two structural funds - the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. All three funds aim at supporting the objectives of the cohesion policy.

  • The European Regional Development Fund contributes to financing investments and redressing regional imbalances. Resources are mostly spent on infrastructure, research, innovation, and protecting the environment.
  • The European Social Fund contributes to furthering employment through education, training, and capacity building in public administration.
  • The Cohesion Fund, which is allocated at a national level, is mostly used for transport and environment projects.

It is expected that the 12 new Member States, which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 respectively, will receive 55 per cent of the cohesion policy resources in 2013, compared with 23 per cent in 2006.

The EU Member States and the European Parliament will negotiate the reform of the cohesion policy during the Danish Presidency.

Here you can find more information about cohesion policy in the EU

EU Commission's website on Regional and Cohesion Policy