Report of Group of High-Level Specialists on the Future of Cohesion Policy

The report aims to assess the functioning of Cohesion Policy up to now and put forward recommendations on how to ensure that it continues to promote prosperity and convergence across the EU beyond 2027. Recommendations will feed into the ongoing process of reflection on the future of Cohesion Policy post-2027.

On 20 February, the Group of High-Level Specialists on the Future of Cohesion Policy, established by the European Commission, presented its final report, summarising their reflections over the past year on how to ensure that Cohesion Policy post-2027 continues to support growth and recovery across Europe’s regions, all the while delivering on the green and digital transition and helping regions adjust to ongoing demographic, industrial, and geopolitical challenges.

The report stresses the importance of Cohesion Policy post-2027 to, among others, address structural challenges of the EU, including the lack of opportunities and barriers to inclusion that are affecting individuals and communities across the EU and are particularly hitting more groups in vulnerable situations, including Roma people. In this sense, experts recommend inter alia that future Cohesion Policy move away from ‘one size-fits-all’ approaches and be more place-based and people-based. It should also promote a holistic approach for social policy by investing more in human capital development and social integration to prevent and reduce inequalities in all territories.

The Report is structured around three key questions:

Why is Cohesion Policy crucial for the future of Europe?

Cohesion is more necessary than ever if the EU is to successfully face its growing long-term structural challenges.
Cohesion ensures that no European is left behind.
Cohesion is fundamental to address poverty, social exclusion and the rising tide of discontent.
Cohesion concerns all. It is about improving prosperity across the entire EU.
Cohesion is key to enable the EU to harness its full economic and social potential and tap into its pool of talent.
Cohesion strengthens the ties that bind all Europeans together, promoting a shared sense of belonging and strengthening the European project.

What does Cohesion Policy do, and what should it do?

A policy for all.
A policy that addresses the main structural challenges of the EU: low development; long-term economic stagnation; and lack of opportunities across all regions. Among them, the lack of opportunities and barriers to inclusion, which are affecting individuals and communities across the EU and are particularly hitting more groups in vulnerable situations, including Roma people and other ethnic minorities, young people, women, migrants as well as elderly workers. These limited opportunities do not only apply to less developed or development trap regions. Even in the largest and most economically dynamic metropolitan areas, large pockets of people encounter a serious lack of opportunities.
A systemic and dynamic policy that taps into the EU’s untapped economic potential, especially in less developed and vulnerable areas, enhancing development and competitiveness throughout the continent and encouraging the generation and diffusion of economic activity.
A policy that promotes territorial fairness.
A policy that builds bridges across the EU’s internal and external borders.

How can Cohesion Policy better fulfilits mission of economic, social, and territorial cohesion in the context of the green and digital transition and demographic change? The Group makes the following recommendations. Cohesion Policy should:

Move away from ‘one size-fits-all’ approaches and be more place-based and people-based, with future-orietnvestments tailored to the unique strengths, challenges, and needs of each region;
Promote a holistic approach for social policy by investing more in human capital development and social integration to prevent and reduce inequalities in all territories;
Be a policy exploiting local capabilities and potential and developing future opportunities for inclusive and sustainable growth through diversification and collaboration;
Contribute to building better institutions, putting institution and capacity building on par with investment in infrastructure and productive capital, human capital and innovation as the basic pillars to achieve development;
Be a policy that builds on the partnership principle and shared management to bring together stakeholders from different tiers of government and civil society to deliver more effective and inclusive development strategies;
Deliver more effective and inclusive development strategies by using the principles of strong partnership and shared management, bringing together stakeholders from different levels of government and civil society;
Connect regions to harness global opportunities and to deliver more sustainable and resilient innovation;
Become even more performance-based, blending this approach with its territorial dimension;
Streamline its administrative procedures and adopt more efficient, user-friendly approaches to simplify processes; and
Remain focused on its original mission of driving sustainable development and boosting competitiveness, while maintaining flexibility to address urgent challenges.

About the high-level group

Upon the initiative of Commissioner Ferreira, in January 2023 the Commission established the Group of High-Level Specialists on the Future of Cohesion Policy. The Group was chaired by Professor Andrés Rodriguez-Pose and consisted of EU-wide representatives from academia, national and regional authorities, and civil society. Its members have been selected based on their experience in Cohesion Policy, economic and social governance, and European integration.

The Group -which is independent from the Commission- has been looking throughout the past year at ways to ensure that Cohesion Policy continues to support growth and recovery across Europe’s regions, all the while delivering on the green and digital transition and helping regions adjust to ongoing demographic, industrial, and geopolitical challenges. Discussions were streamed live and are available online to ensure that all stakeholders have access to the wealth of information produced and the rich debates held amongst its members.