Une politique de cohésion renouvelée après 2027, qui ne laisse personne de côté Réponses du CdR au neuvième rapport sur la cohésion, au rapport du groupe de haut niveau sur l'avenir de la politique de cohésion et aux conclusions du Conseil sur l'avenir de la politique de cohésion (juin 2024)
Opinion factsheet
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- Politique de cohésion
- Cohesion policy reform
Objective
In light of the publication of a number of key documents, in particular the 9th Cohesion Report, the Report on the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy, and the Council Conclusions of 18 June on the 9th Cohesion report, the opinion aims at putting forward the CoR's views on the latest developments in the inter-institutional debate on the future of Cohesion Policy, thereby also providing a follow-up to the recent CoR opinion on the future of Cohesion Policy post-2027 by the same co-rapporteurs.
Impact
The CoR had a key influence on the Council Conclusions adopted on 28 March 2025 on the future of cohesion policy. Reflecting the long-standing position of the CoR, ministers responsible for cohesion committed to ensuring that all EU policies should support the objective of economic, social and territorial cohesion, whilst confirming that competitiveness and cohesion are interconnected. Regarding cohesion policy, the Council Conclusions clearly supported the CoR opinions on "The future of cohesion policy post-2027" and on "A renewed Cohesion policy post 2027 that leaves no one behind" by committing to upholding the key principles of cohesion policy (such as multilevel governance and partnership), reasserting the pivotal role of regional and local authorities to deliver the policy, whilst ensuring that the policy should cover all regions in the future.
Essential points
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR)
- welcomes the fact that a reinforced and improved cohesion policy is being recognised in the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 of the European Council, the political guidelines of the European Commission President for 2024-2029 and several other high-level documents;
- recognises that a new combination of challenges facing Europe and its territories necessitates a reform of the policy, whose success in tackling regional disparities will be contingent upon reinforcing its objectives and principles rather than diluting or altering them;
- recalls that the scale of territorial challenges demands equipping post-27 cohesion policy with a budget that is up to the task, at least equivalent to the 2021-2027 one (including the REACT-EU top-up) in real terms;
- stresses that all regions should continue to be eligible for funding and is of the view that calls for restricting the geographical scope of the policy rest upon a narrow and misleading understanding of its impact and benefits;
- strongly advocates that the shared-management model, multi-level governance and the partnership principle remain the guiding principles of cohesion policy post-2027;
- opposes any direct or indirect measure of centralisation within cohesion policy and advocates to establish more legal guarantees in the post-2027 framework to ensure greater decentralisation and the comprehensive involvement of local and regional authorities in decision-making processes.