New publication on impact of EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

The publication “Bridging Gaps: EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 – Creating a better life for Europeans” aims to offer a deep dive into the Cohesion Policy. While Cohesion Policy is delivered through three funds (ESF, ERDF and CF), this publication focuses mainly on the results enabled by the last two, as well as the instruments that are deployed through these funds.

The publication “Bridging Gaps: EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 – Creating a better life for Europeans” aims to offer a deep dive into the Cohesion Policy, its objectives, and most importantly in the results of the 2014-2020 funding period. As the EU’s main investment tool, in the period considered, the EU invested €405 billion into European economies and societies (an estimated total of €551 billion with national contributions) through Cohesion Policy.

While Cohesion Policy is delivered through three funds: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), and Cohesion Fund (CF), this publication focuses mainly on the results enabled by the ERDF and CF, as well as the instruments that are deployed through these funds.

The publication provides an overview of the funds and their respective budgets as well as on a number of overarching achievements in a wide variety of fields such as enterprise support, sustainable urban development, social infrastructure….

It then includes country specific pages highlighting achievements of the national and regional programmes in each of the countries as well as a limited selection of project in the hope that they serve to convey the essence of the impact achieved over the years.

While it does not cover ESF projects, it does refer to the complementarity betweeen ESF and ERDF in the different areas covered. For example, the complementarity between these two funds is notable under the social infrastructure heading. While ESF supports employability, job search capabilities, education at all levels, inclusion, healthcare, long-term care and community services, the ERDF invests in building and improving infrastructure and equipment to meet the infrastructural needs to make these services available. In this regard, 63 million people benefited from improved health service facilities, nearly 24.6 million children and young people had benefited from the childcare facilities and education infrastructure that have been built. Examples of social infrastructure projects highlighted in this publication include healthcare establishment in French Guiana, Tartu Childrens Hospital in Estonia, and the provision of digital school equipment to Ukrainian pupils in Slovakia.

This is also particularly relevant in the area of sustainable urban development. While urban areas, which are home to two third of the EU’s population, are places of many opportunities, they are also places where persistent problems, such as unemployment, segregation, and poverty are at their most severe. Consequently, the investments supported holistic responses in a variety of areas to improve the livelihood and wellbeing of locals. During the 2014-2020 period, 20 million square metres of open space were created or rehabilitated and 1.7 million square metres of buildings were constructed or renovated in urban areas. Examples of urban development projects highlighted in this publication include the Miskolc complex urban social rehabilitation programme in Hungary, the renovation of Mercado do Bolhão in Portugal, and Eleftheria Square regeneration in Cyprus.

We recall the key role of ERDF (in the framework of Policy Objective 4.3. “Promoting the socioeconomic inclusion of marginalised communities, low income households and disadvantaged groups including people with special needs, through integrated actions, including housing and social services” or others) to promote Roma equality and inclusion, through investments across the different thematic areas (including education, employment, social housing, health and social care, anti-discrimination etc.) and supporting infrastructure development, equipment and access to quality mainstream services in all areas above…always keeping in mind the principles of non-segregation and desegregation. Thematic investment areas include regeneration of deprived urban and rural areas, shift from institutional to community-based services, addressing educational and spatial segregation and support for business start-ups.

To discover all the Cohesion Policy projects in your region – or in the topic you are interested in, visit Kohesio. Find common indicators and stories at Cohesion Open Data Platform. Information on EU’s regional policy can be found on Inforegio.