L’avenir de la politique de cohésion après2027
Opinion factsheet
Sur cette page
- Politique de cohésion
- Cohesion policy reform
Objective
The opinion aims at enabling the CoR to assume a proactive role in the preparation of the next Cohesion Policy cycle after 2027.
Specifically, it will allow the CoR to put forward its political recommendations on the matter in advance of the 9th Cohesion Report and the subsequent Strategic Agenda of the European Union, which are both expected in spring 2024.
It will also allow the CoR to politically reflect upon the various discussions on the future of Cohesion policy (i.e. the Commission's Expert Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy as well as the Cohesion Alliance's reflection process), which will be conducted throughout 2023.
Specifically, it will allow the CoR to put forward its political recommendations on the matter in advance of the 9th Cohesion Report and the subsequent Strategic Agenda of the European Union, which are both expected in spring 2024.
It will also allow the CoR to politically reflect upon the various discussions on the future of Cohesion policy (i.e. the Commission's Expert Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy as well as the Cohesion Alliance's reflection process), which will be conducted throughout 2023.
Impact
Following the adoption in plenary by unanimity of the CoR opinion on The future of cohesion policy post 2027, the opinion was presented to officials representing the 27 Member States at the Council Working Group on Structural Measures and Outmost Regions (SMOR) on 7 December 2023, where it was very well received.
The CoR President and the COTER chair as co-rapporteurs for the opinion assumed a pro-active role and put forward the views of the CoR at a number of high-level events in 2024, including the 9th Cohesion Forum in April 2024 in Brussels, which significantly influenced the discourse on the future of cohesion policy.
Key CoR messages on the necessity of a strong cohesion policy for all regions and the importance of maintaining its “golden principles” (shared management, multi-level governance and partnership, and the place-based approach) have been echoed by several Member States, regions and groupings of regions, associations of local and regional authorities, and other stakeholders in their own positions on future cohesion policy adopted during 2024 and transmitted to the CoR.
Although in such policy areas it is not possible to establish direct causal links, the CoR's work on this matter has without doubt contributed to the fact that the need for a reinforced and improved cohesion policy is recognised in several key documents:
• The Council conclusions on the 9th Cohesion Report were rather positive and pointed in many areas in the same direction as the CoR opinion on The future of Cohesion policy post-2027;
• The Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, which was adopted by the European Council on 27 June 2024, contained a commitment to enhancing economic, social and territorial cohesion aiming for continuous upward convergence, reducing disparities and stimulating long-term growth across the Union;
• Ms von der Leyen, in her speech to the Members of European Parliament before her re-election as President of the European Commission, acknowledged the key role played by local and regional authorities to deliver on EU political priorities and expressed her commitment to a strong cohesion policy that is designed together with regions and local authorities. Further, her Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029 stipulate that regions will remain at the centre of the European Commission's work by addressing regional and social disparities with strengthened cohesion and growth policy.
The CoR President and the COTER chair as co-rapporteurs for the opinion assumed a pro-active role and put forward the views of the CoR at a number of high-level events in 2024, including the 9th Cohesion Forum in April 2024 in Brussels, which significantly influenced the discourse on the future of cohesion policy.
Key CoR messages on the necessity of a strong cohesion policy for all regions and the importance of maintaining its “golden principles” (shared management, multi-level governance and partnership, and the place-based approach) have been echoed by several Member States, regions and groupings of regions, associations of local and regional authorities, and other stakeholders in their own positions on future cohesion policy adopted during 2024 and transmitted to the CoR.
Although in such policy areas it is not possible to establish direct causal links, the CoR's work on this matter has without doubt contributed to the fact that the need for a reinforced and improved cohesion policy is recognised in several key documents:
• The Council conclusions on the 9th Cohesion Report were rather positive and pointed in many areas in the same direction as the CoR opinion on The future of Cohesion policy post-2027;
• The Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, which was adopted by the European Council on 27 June 2024, contained a commitment to enhancing economic, social and territorial cohesion aiming for continuous upward convergence, reducing disparities and stimulating long-term growth across the Union;
• Ms von der Leyen, in her speech to the Members of European Parliament before her re-election as President of the European Commission, acknowledged the key role played by local and regional authorities to deliver on EU political priorities and expressed her commitment to a strong cohesion policy that is designed together with regions and local authorities. Further, her Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029 stipulate that regions will remain at the centre of the European Commission's work by addressing regional and social disparities with strengthened cohesion and growth policy.
Essential points
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- considers that the priorities for cohesion policy should evolve for the post-2027 period so that there can be no doubt as to its position as the main EU investment tool to achieve economic, social and territorial cohesion in the long term;
- stresses that all European regions should remain eligible for funding in the future;
- strongly advocates that the shared-management model, multi-level governance and the partnership principle remain the guiding principles of cohesion policy and that any future investment policy instrument should be based on these principles;
- stresses the need for the "do no harm to cohesion" principle to apply to all EU policies;
- highlights the importance of measuring the benefits of cohesion policy combining both qualitative and quantitative indicators and going beyond GDP taking into account regions in development traps and believes that developing a territorial vulnerability scoreboard is crucial to start a policy debate on how to use cohesion policy to respond to such vulnerabilities;
- stresses that the overall budget of cohesion policy in the post-2027 period should be at least equivalent to the 2021-2027 one (including the REACT-EU top-up) in real terms, while the European Territorial Cooperation component should be increased and represent no less than 8% of the total amount;
- advocates that cohesion policy should operate under the aegis of a single strategic framework defining the main scope and goals for the post-2027 period; this "European partnership pact" should ensure coherence and directionality in the implementation of the policy with guarantees regarding the participation of local and regional authorities;
- highlights that regulatory stability and predictability is essential for fast and effective delivery;
- is convinced that the principles underpinning just transition should guide the next programming period considering the structural challenges linked to the green and digital transformation and their uneven impact on EU regions.