Regions & Cities 2013: Cohesion Policy and Regional Aid
The 2013 edition of EUobserver's Regions & Cities magazine looks at cohesion spending and successes and failures of EU regional aid.
The 2013 edition of EUobserver's Regions & Cities magazine looks at cohesion spending and successes and failures of EU regional aid.
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EUOBSERVER MAGAZINE<br />
REGIONS & CITIES<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2013</strong><br />
REGIONAL PARTNERS<br />
It is October <strong>2013</strong> <strong>and</strong> the eve of a new long-term budget for the European<br />
Union. The past years have been marked by record unemployment <strong>and</strong><br />
stagnant growth. The dominant political theme in the EU has been budgetslashing<br />
austerity <strong>and</strong> a focus on being more efficient with fewer resources.<br />
This has seriously affected <strong>Cohesion</strong> <strong>Policy</strong> for the coming years (2014-<br />
2020). While still representing a third of the EU budget, the cohesion pot<br />
is €22 billion smaller when compared to the current budget cycle. How<br />
the new money (€325bn) is to be spent will also change. <strong>Regional</strong> affairs<br />
commissioner Johannes Hahn tells these pages that projects which lack<br />
strategic thinking will “no longer be acceptable.”<br />
Meanwhile, regional authorities need to keep in mind the EU’s long-term<br />
economic goals <strong>and</strong> run the risk of being punished if central governments fall<br />
foul of EU budget rules. One academic says the revamp is absolutely “not<br />
business as usual.”<br />
And so, regional representatives have much to talk about as they gather for<br />
this year’s Open Days week.<br />
This magazine looks at the issues in an interview with Hahn, reviews the<br />
changes to cohesion spending <strong>and</strong> explores some past successes <strong>and</strong><br />
failures of EU regional aid.<br />
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Editor: Lisbeth Kirk<br />
Editorial contributors: Honor Mahony <strong>and</strong> Ben Fox<br />
Article layout: Tobias Andreasen<br />
Cover photo: © European Commission<br />
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2 OCTOBER <strong>2013</strong> REGIONS & CITIES
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