Under the new MFF 2021-2027, the European Semester and Cohesion Policy will be more strictly linked. The Country Reports will address the needs of the Member States in terms of investments and cohesion, providing the basis for more investment-oriented Country-Specific Recommendations in the years to come. Structural reforms will be prioritized in order to focus on growth and cohesion needs.

To prepare for this new scenario, this workshop will address issues such as the need to align short- and medium-term goals and governance processes with the long-term EU goals of sustainable growth, the definition of structural reforms and the role of the local and regional authorities in the European Semester in light of the principles of partnership and multilevel governance. European Semester officers will report on how the Semester is implemented on the ground, while the EPC will present a recent study on the links between structural reforms and the EU cohesion goals.