The Commission’s eighth cohesion report shows that cohesion policy has helped to reduce territorial and social disparities between EU regions. Thanks to cohesion funds, GDP per capita in the less developed regions is expected to increase by up to 5% by 2023. The same investments also contributed to a 3.5% reduction in the gap between the GDP per capita of the 10% of the least developed regions and the 10% of the most developed regions.
The report also shows that, thanks to its flexibility, cohesion policy has provided indispensable and very rapid support to Member States and regional and local authorities in the context of the economic slowdown and the worst crisis in recent times.
The new cohesion policy programmes for the period 2021-2027 will continue to invest in regions and people, in close coordination with the financial capacity offered by the NextGenerationEU package.
Additional key conclusions
- Cohesion policy has become a more important source of investment. Cohesion funding increased from the equivalent of 34% of total public investment in the 2007-2013 programming period to 52% in the 2014-2020 programming period.
- Since 2001, the less developed regions of Eastern Europe have caught up with the rest of the EU. However, at the same time, many middle-income and less developed regions, especially in the south and south-west of the EU, have experienced economic stagnation or decline.
- Convergence between Member States has accelerated; however, internal regional disparities within fast-growing Member States have increased.
- Employment has increased, but regional disparities remain larger than before 2008.
- The number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion decreased by 17 million between 2012 and 2019.
- The regional innovation gap has widened in Europe, due to underinvestment in R&D and weaknesses in innovation ecosystems in less developed regions.
- The EU population is ageing and will start to shrink in the coming years. In 2020, 34% of the EU population lived in a region where the population is shrinking and this figure is expected to reach 51% in 2040.
Statements by members of the College of Commissioners:
Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, said: «The 8th Cohesion Report clearly shows the importance of cohesion policy in promoting convergence and reducing inequalities between countries and regions in the EU. By identifying the areas where Member States and regions need to continue to work and improve, the report allows us to learn from the lessons of the past in order to be better prepared for the challenges of the future. We need to speed up the adoption and implementation of cohesion policy programmes for the period 2021-2027 so that we can continue to support regions to recover from the pandemic, reap the full benefits of the transition to a green and digital Europe, and achieve long-term growth».
Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit added: «The pandemic has increased the risk of inequalities in the EU and Cohesion Policy is one of our main instruments to fight this trend and invest in people. It helps us to deliver on the objective of building a strong social Europe that is inclusive and fair. I am proud of the fact that, thanks to EU funds, disadvantaged children can receive books and computers, young people can access workplace training that will allow them to enter the labour market, and vulnerable people have access to care and a hot meal.